Salrynn's Shrine
by zippystripe
Summary: That island had seemed rather nice, normal, and pretty much like all the other islands they had visited so far. But it wasn't until they had left the island some months ago that Sanji realized why it was so different. Mpreg&smut to come.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: That island had seemed rather nice, normal, and pretty much like all the other islands they had visited so far - inasmuch as it had had many pretty girls that Sanji liked to gander at and (unsuccessfully) flirt with. It also had an unusually high number of same-sex couples, or so he had presumed in most cases, and it wasn't until they had left the island some months ago that he realised why.

Comments: Holy crap I don't think I've ever written a summary that long. Well, quick introduction - I'm Beau and this is my first ever zosan fic, so characterisations might be kind of bad, even though I have been lurking in this fandom for five years. (Yes, I counted.) Contains mpreg later on, rated for later chapters if I don't put any smut in this one.

Sanji smiled as his bare feet hit the warm stone floor of the busy harbour. It seemed that this place had certain customs which any visitors were obliged to conform to, and one of them was the apparent dislike of footwear. It was probably due to the high temperature of the place, he noted, as the air was humid and the heat was almost tangible. He supposed it came with the whole jungle island thing.

He turned around to look back up at the ship, where he could hear the voice of his lovely Nami-swan and the not-so-attractive, deep voice of the Marimo. He grit his teeth slightly as he realised that the two voices were arguing, over what he couldn't tell, but it was probably money. The same argument that was had at every island that had a market. Zoro would want his swords repaired and would have no money to have it done, and Nami-swan would rightfully tell him that he still owed her several thousand beli and that he would have to wait until it was repaid before he even came close to touching any of her money.

Sanji glared at a plank of wood on the Sunny. He knew what this meant.

"No." He snapped, the second Zoro's boots hit the stone floor.

"But I didn't even ask you yet!"

"But you're going to."

"How do you know?"

"You just said you were going to."

"But-"

"NO."

Sanji held back a growl as he slammed several beli notes on the blacksmith's counter. How did he get into this again? He glared in the general direction of his green haired - he grit his teeth again - lover, who was currently admiring the different swords on the wall of the blacksmith's armoury.

"Oi! Marimo!" He called.

"Wh~at~?"

"We're done. Let's go." Zoro mumbled something under his breath, which the blond didn't hear, and they were soon on their way out. The swordsman was about to turn away and make a break for it, but the cook grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Not so fast, princess. You're going to return the favour."

Zoro's eyes darted about briefly. "You mean… right here?" His face was slowly breaking into a dirty grin. Sanji rolled his eyes.

"Not that, idiot. You're going to carry the shopping." He deadpanned, before grabbing the white shirt more forcibly and dragging the whining lump of swordsman along with him to the market.

"Oi! Ero-cook!" Zoro called, his voice muffled by the bags and crates he was carrying. "How much more stuff do you need? You can just get a freaking cart for this junk!" Zoro could probably carry most of the crew, including Franky, so it wasn't exactly hard to carry the pervert's shopping. He just wanted to go and drink some cheap booze and spend the rest of the evening screwing the blond.

Sanji looked back at him and grinned evilly. "I already have one," he said, and smiled, "and its not 'junk'. You're going to be eating that." He glared slightly.

Zoro groaned.

The two made their way around the marketplace, mainly doing mundane things before they stumbled across a jewellers. Sanji wasn't usually one to be particularly interested in jewellery, and they had enough on board anyway, but the place looked quite expensive and classy and the blond figured it wouldn't hurt to look inside.

"Oi, we're going in here," he called over to the swordsman, who was being admired by several people sitting around the outside tables of a diner - most of them men. Sanji was slightly confused for a moment, but brushed it off and dragged his boyfriend through the door, with a hint of possessiveness that he'd never admit to having.

"Why are we going in here?" Zoro asked, thankful that the other had the decency to guide him through the door. He tried to ignore how the cook's finger gently brushed against his abdomen as he pulled him along by his shirt, as if trying to calm him subconsciously.

Sanji looked around the quiet store for a moment. The walls were decorated in a deep navy and the cabinets were lined with silver. He bent down slightly to look at some of the rings, which were all beautiful until he looked at the price tags. One near the back, a masculine silver one with unusual, intricate engravings on it caught the blond's blue eye. The band was very wide and would probably nearly reach his finger knuckle, but there was a big blue stone in the middle - probably Sapphire - which was cut into a sphere.

"Hello gentlemen, may I help you?" The blond glanced up to see the angelic face of a young brown haired girl with big amber eyes. Her hair was plaited into two braids that fell over her chest gracefully, and her skin was lightly tanned. Sanji's heart-shaped eyes travelled down the woman's body until it descended upon her hand, where a large, transparent rock adorned her left ring finger. The heart popped dramatically.

"May I ask, miss, who has the honour of being the one to give you that beautiful ring~?" He cooed, looking back up at the woman who blinked at him quite cutely.

"O-oh," she said, "m-my wife. We've been married for five years now, and together for seven." She explained, smiling tenderly down at the beautiful ring.

Sanji blinked. Then he tried his very best not to kick the green haired swordsman behind him who had tried to conceal an obvious snort at the shoot-down. "Oh, I see. It's beautiful. Congratulations." He said, almost on automatic.

"Oh, thank you," she replied, smiling in a heartbreakingly cute way. "So, what are you looking for? Engagement rings? There are plenty of wedding sets available for gay couples."

The two turned white. If it had been anyone else, Sanji would've kicked whoever said it into oblivion, but as it was said by a woman - a very pretty one at that - the thought didn't cross his mind. Unfortunately, Zoro felt that a verbal assault was necessary.

Just as Sanji was about to open his mouth, Zoro interrupted him. "Eh? You seriously think I'd waste my time on this retard? Pah!" Zoro yelled from behind the pile of shopping he was carrying, and shifted his weight onto one foot.

Sanji glared at said pile, as if his glare could pierce through it. Zoro shivered. Then he cracked an evil grin. "Sweetheart, could we go home now? I think I left the vibrator on." He asked sweetly. Usually he wouldn't be so rude in the presence of a lady, but every time the swordsman was around this countenance seemed to disappear. Zoro bristled.

"Ch-oi!" Zoro retaliated, his following rant drowned out by Sanji's voice.

"Goodbye miss~" He called with heart-shaped eyes, pushing his lover out the door. "Sorry for wasting your time~~" The jeweller giggled girlishly, waving her goodbye to the two men.

Upon stepping outside the store, Sanji kicked Zoro.

"Hey! What the fuck was that for?" The swordsman asked, disgruntled.

"Laughing. And being rude to that nice girl." Snapped the blond, picking up a small plastic bag that he had knocked off the pile Zoro was carrying.

"Fuck, sorry for being happy…" Zoro muttered. "And you were hardly being… gracious with that vibrator comment…"

Sanji paused and brushed off that second remark. "How the hell can you be happy? You've done nothing but bitch since we arrived on this island!"

"Because you made me carry all of your stupid shopping!" The green haired man replied, exasperated. "And besides, so what if I like spending time with you?" He said, blushing almost immediately at what he just said.

Sanji stared. Not a quick stare, but a long, unblinking stare.

"Stop staring at me!" Zoro barked after several moments.

Sanji persisted for another five minutes, until Zoro seriously contemplated impaling himself the flag pole that was just in his line of sight. Come to think of it, the flag had a picture of a foetus on it. What the hell? What kind of flag had a foetus on-

"Pahahahahahaha!" He was interrupted by the silly, high pitched laughter that belonged to his lover.

"What?" Zoro shouted. "What the hell's so funny, asshole?"

The blond tried to stop his laughter to respond, but he was interrupted by several bursts of giggling. "You," he began, "you like spending time with me?"

Zoro glared and dumped the pile on the floor before turning to stalk away, his hands shoved into his pockets. Sanji stopped laughing immediately.

"Oi! Zoro! Where do you think you're going?" He called, reaching down to pick up his shopping before walking towards the swordsman quickly.

Zoro ignored him and kept on walking. Sanji sighed and decided that it was probably best to leave the bastard to cool off on his own. For now, he was done with most of the shopping as it had not been long since they left the previous island and arrived at this one, and decided to return to the ship to put it all away. Then he'd come back into town to find his lover who would no doubt be lost within the next few seconds.

Sometime after the conversation, Zoro found himself staring up at a glowing neon sign above his head. 'Taboo' it read. Zoro snorted at the tackiness. Well, he supposed any place with booze must be good, so he booted the tatty looking door open to a faceful of blaring music and stepped in.

The place reeked of cigarette smoke, which the swordsman instantly disliked because it reminded him of the cook. There were strove blue lights that swayed around the room, and about a hundred spandex and sequin clad men dancing in front of (and sometimes against, to his horror) him as he waded through the sea of bodies to what he hoped was the bar.

He eventually arrived at the bar, sitting down at a stool tiredly after having been groped many times. He glanced around the place warily. This place scared him. And not much scared Roronoa Zoro. He glared over at a man seated a few metres away who appeared to be mentally undressing him.

"Hello sir, what can I get you~?" Zoro turned to where the girly voice had come from. In front of him stood a tall blond man wearing a white shirt and black waist coat, but no tie. His shirt was unbuttoned to reveal most of his chest where sat a large silver medallion.

The green haired man groaned. For fuck's sake, even the fucking bartender looked like the cook. "Give me the strongest stuff you have." He answered, staring at the tiles of the bar. The bartender raised his eyebrows cattily before turning around and pouring a flourescent green liquid into a small glass from a tall, thin bottle. He placed the glass in front of the swordsman expectantly, before putting his hand on his hip and jutting it out ever so slightly. Zoro looked at it as though it were an insult.

"What the fuck is that?" He asked, glaring at the bartender slightly.

"Absinthe." He replied.

Zoro shrugged. Couldn't hurt to try it once... He picked the small glass up and held it to his lips, before downing the liquid in one go. The resulting light-headed affect made him dizzy, and he soon decided that going on a pub crawl on a weird island with a foetus emblem on its flag that he didn't know much about was not a good idea. With this in mind he promptly paid the bartender with the few coins he had left in his pocket and made his way back through the sea of dancing men towards the exit.

Upon stumbling out of the club door, he leant against the wall to rub his forehead with his palms, groaning slightly at the onslaught of a white spots he could see behind his eyelids. The lights, the music and the sudden burn of absinthe down his throat made his eyes water and gave him a headache. He was tired and decided to go back to the ship. The only problem was he was lost (again) and had no idea how to get back.

He opened his eyes, and in the distance was a yellow dot that appeared to be looking through the windows of a closed shop. He began walking towards it, knowing that if it was yellow and there was a stream of smoke drifting up from it, it was probably Sanji's head.

Sanji almost jumped out of his skin when the green haired swordsman placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Jesus!" She shouted, looking over his shoulder at his lover. "You scared the shit out of me." He said, slightly quieter.

"Sorry." Zoro replied, looking at the floor and burying his hands in his pockets. "Can we go back to the ship? I drank something weird in a club," he explained.

Sanji rolled his eyes. He settled for the first apology, even though he knew that Zoro wasn't really apologizing for earlier. It was stupid anyway, and from the looks of it, his lover had gotten lost and done something even more stupid, and the best thing for him was to go home and sleep.

"Okay. I guess I should take you home so you don't get lost and stumble into anymore gay bars," Sanji remarked with a wink.

Zoro made a confused noise. Gay bar? Roronoa Zoro did not go into ithose/i. Not on purpose anyway. He took his lover's hand and they made their way back to the ship in silence.

The next day, it appeared that all chaos had erupted on board the Thousand Sunny. Zoro rubbed his head at the onslaught of noises.

Walking into the galley, he yawned loudly at everyone, who were all (excluding Nami and Robin, who were eating like civilised human beings) stuffing their faces like the pigs Zoro was convinced they were. But then again, he was one of them, so he didn't really give a crap.

He sat down heavily at the table, grabbing whatever he could before it ended up in Luffy's mouth. Unfortunately, as he grabbed the handle of the jug of juice, his captain's hand landed upon it too, resulting in the two of them engaging in a minor argument that lasted several minutes, before Sanji cut in.

"Christ! Will you stop acting like kids? Luffy, just let the Marimo have it. He missed breakfast, after all." He said. Luffy frowned dramatically, before replying with a sentence that no human could ever understand as his mouth was full of food.

Zoro stared at the cook, befuddled. "I slept through breakfast?" He asked. "Fuck, why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"I tried, but you wouldn't wake up. That must've been some weird stuff you drank last night. What did they say it was?" The doctor asked. Fucking Eyebrow, must've told everyone about his... trip to the gay bar.

"Absinthe." Zoro replied.

"Must've been fucking strong," The blond said quietly, reaching up to light a cigarette. "Well! I'm going out to do some exploring. Would you like to come with me, Nami-swan~? Robin-chwan~?" He cooed.

Zoro didn't hear the rest. He decided it would be best to continue training for the rest of the day, and so he made his way up to the gym.

A few hours later, Zoro climbed down to the deck of the ship. His mind was clouded and for some reason, he found it difficult to concentrate. He figured that this island must have a waterfall or some other area he could meditate in, so he made his way into the town.

Unfortunately, he ended up lost, as usual. How did he do that? He was headed for the jungle that seemed to begin near the back of the town, behind the residential area, and he was in what looked to be the red light district. He grimaced.

"Hey handsome~ You looking for a good time~?" Zoro looked up to where the voice had come from, horrified. Above him, leaning out the window, was a pink-haired man smiling at him flirtatiously.

He glared slightly. "No!" He shouted. "And get a real job!" Flustered, he turned to speed walk away from the weird place.

'Fuck, is everyone on this island gay?' He thought, rubbing his head slightly as if the man's offer had physically wounded him. He continued to walk, staring at the floor, until he bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're-Zoro?" The swordsman looked up and into the confused face of the cook. "I thought you were spending the whole day training?"

"I wanted to meditate," the swordsman explained, "but I got lost and ended up... never mind. Listen, how the hell do you get into that jungle?"

Sanji looked back at him, raising an eyebrow and glancing in the direction his lover had just came. Then he stifled a giggle. "I'll take you. I don't want you hanging out with anymore prostitutes." He quipped, smiling slyly before leading the other off in the direction of the jungle.

"...Teme." Zoro mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets and stalking after the blond.

The foot of the jungle had an entrance that was dark and shrouded. It was almost woven together with thick vines, and Zoro couldn't help but admire Sanji's ass as he bent down to crawl through the small opening. He looked over his shoulder at the green haired man.

"Oi, you coming?" He asked, oblivious to the suggestiveness of his pose.

Zoro suppressed a grunt.

"Yes." He croaked, before following the cook in.

The jungle seemed to be much wider inside, as if the shrubbery seen from the outside were just a disguise in the shape of a dome. It was still rather dark, but there were hundreds of cracks in the vines that allowed columns of light to shine through into the serene, garden-like place. There had obviously been humans here before, as there was a mossy stone path that lead deeper into the forest, and in the distance, Zoro could hear the sound of water running.

Sanji was studying some berries on a nearby shrub, as if questioning whether it was safe to eat them. He decided that they were probably safe to eat - from what he'd learned most of the berries in the market had been grown in the wild, so they probably wouldn't harm him. He ate one and it tasted pretty good, in his opinion. He began walking along the path next to his lover, who seemed suspicious of the place.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking over at the other.

"Can't you feel it?" Zoro replied, his voice sounding quite detached, as if he were entranced by the place . "It feels... alive."

Sanji stared at him. "It does?" He couldn't feel it, not really. He did feel like he was being watched, though. Maybe that's what he was talking about. He looked around the place, inspecting it for enemies on instinct.

"Let's go deeper," Zoro suggested. He couldn't understand it, but there was something dragging him to the core of jungle. Some deeper instincts were probably at work.

Sanji nodded, and the two began following the path, wherever it led.


	2. Chapter 2

The jungle wasn't only dark, it was also humid as hell. It smelt strongly of pollen as well, weirdly - Sanji didn't think anything would be able to grow in this place. It was probably the trees. He couldn't help but feel the strange feeling Zoro had described getting stronger; it felt like he was getting closer and closer to finding something he'd lost.

Zoro seemed to be in a bit of a daze. He was walking almost on automatic, his eyes fixed on a spot in the distance. When Sanji looked at it, the wind was almost knocked out of him - not that it was anything too special, it was merely a light in the distance that seemed to glow constantly, never flickering, only radiating a strange, mysterious light. Perhaps that was what made the plants grow, he thought distantly, as the plant life was getting thicker and thicker as they stepped closer to it.

Subconsciously, he reached for his lovers hand, and felt a numb sort of surprise that Zoro's hand met his halfway. They kept walking toward the light at the same slow pace, treading on the flowery floor and never quickening their steps no matter how much they wanted to. It seemed like it was calling to them, and the blond started to feel his pants tighten. Mildly confused, he tried to move his head down to look at his crotch, but it felt as though he couldn't. He ignored it for the time being and continued to stare at the strange light.

He felt his legs stop moving as they reached the light, and the two looked up at what was before them. It was an intimidating oak tree with a trunk as wide as a house. On it, there was a heavy gold wall which circled the tree and had unusual patterns dancing across the surface, and an ancient-looking humanoid figure was etched into the centre of it. From it, carved circles and symbols spiralled out, and the light that the two men couldn't tear their eyes away from rested on the belly of the unusual illustration. At the bottom of this wall was a ledge that was decorated with candles and flower reefs with small pieces of paper attached to them.

'Perhaps it's a place of worship,' Sanji thought, staring in awe at the strange shrine.

Before them, at the foot of the large gold wall, was what appeared to be a field of flowers and herbs, and in the centre of it was a spherical dip in the ground. It was big enough to probably hold several people, and Sanji suddenly had an idea.

However, it appeared that Zoro had had the same idea, as he was suddenly grabbed around the waist and kissed roughly. He kissed back just as fervently, fisting his fingers into the short green spikes of hair. Zoro grabbed his ass, and he whimpered, standing up on his toes excitedly. He opened his mouth to pant briefly, but attached his mouth to Zoro's just as quickly as he'd released them.

The swordsman kissed down his neck and nibbled at the base of his tendon, pulling a moan from the cook's throat. His pants were getting tighter and the two men suddenly felt a need to be naked that was stronger than they'd ever felt it before. In fact, everything they seemed to be feeling was heightened and they felt so much more sensitive and receptive to the things they were doing to each other. There was no name calling, stalling for time any of the other obstacles that usually prolonged their torture - they were ripping their clothes off as quickly as they could, and trying to keep the skin on skin contact all the while.

They were soon naked and kissing passionately, hands roving over heated flesh and fisting in hair. Zoro grunted as Sanji leant against him and began rubbing their cocks together desperately, leaning against him and whispering filthy things into his ear. He licked across Zoro's lobe where it was pierced three times, and the swordsman responded by biting the cook's neck and squeezing his ass harder.

"Fuck…" Zoro groaned. "Lay down, in that flower bed," he ordered, burying his face in Sanji's neck. The cook pulled away and did as he was told, spreading his legs invitingly and stroking his inner thigh flirtatiously. The ground was oddly soft and felt warm and welcoming, he noted, but there were more pressing things he wanted to attend to rather than the surreal atmosphere.

The swordsman looked down at him, giving that strange, entranced look again, and then laid between his legs, attacking his mouth with his lips. Sanji groaned and kissed back, wrapping his legs around the green haired man's waist. He raked his nails down his muscled back almost teasingly, receiving a low groan in return. Zoro kissed down the cook's neck, sucking on his Adam's apple. The cook groaned, knowing that Zoro was doing this on purpose. He knew where all of his sensitive spots were, and he shivered every time he kissed, sucked or bit one.

The swordsman kissed down the blond's chest, taking a nipple into his mouth and laving his tongue around it slowly. He nibbled on it gently, and Sanji released a throaty moan at the sensation, writhing slightly. He held onto the sides of Zoro's head, his thumb idly stroking the green fuzz of his sideburns. He smiled slightly - he'd always liked the soft feel of the swordsman's hair. After giving the other nipple the same attention, Zoro released the other, the two of them gazing into each other's eyes for a few moments before kissing again, harder this time.

Breathlessly, Sanji pulled back. "Turn over," he whispered.

Zoro was confused for a moment, but did as he was told. He laid on his back expectantly for a few moments before the blond rolled over onto him, scooting down his lover's body until he was face to face with his cock. He glanced up at the swordsman for a brief moment, who had a slight pink staining his cheeks and was staring back down at him with glazed eyes. Without prolonging his torture for a moment longer, Sanji swallowed the swordsman to the hilt in one go. Zoro stifled a moan at the action, stuffing the side of his hand into his mouth as Sanji began bobbing his head in his lap.

The blond closed his eyes in concentration, stroking his lovers hip with his thumb soothingly as he worked his lips across his cock slowly, getting faster and faster. The swordsman tried to buck several times, releasing little strangled groans that sounded like gargled forms of Sanji's name, but the blond held his lover's hips down with practiced hands.

"Ahh… Sanji! I-I'm-" Zoro groaned. Sanji pulled away quickly, not wanting his lover to come yet.

The two panted and looked at each other. There was a sort of strange, feral attraction going on between them that they didn't usually feel. It almost would've made them feel uncomfortable with the tryst if it didn't feel so… natural. It was like this was meant to happen, this intense, heavy, unfamiliar type of attraction they were experiencing. The two could feel what felt like electricity radiating from their bodies, enveloping them in a strange warmth they were sure they shouldn't be feeling in what would usually be a clammy, damp place.

Sanji slid up Zoro's body slowly, straddling him and placing his legs on either side of the swordsman's hips. He arched his back slightly, stretching it like a feline, and rubbed his ass against his lover's cock teasingly. Zoro grunted and grabbed his hips, raising his hips slightly to rub himself against the crevice of the cook's ass. Sanji moaned and rubbed himself against him more, leaning down to kiss him as their bodies rocked together.

"Nng, lube," Zoro grunted against Sanji's lips, seemingly unable to hold out much longer. The cook cursed mentally. Out of all the days to forget that little bottle he took with him everywhere…

"I don't have any," he said, his eyes automatically scanning the area for a liquid he could use.

Zoro groaned impatiently and pressed two fingers against the cook's lips. "Suck," he ordered.

Sanji would've argued with the order if his mind hadn't been clouded with the lust he couldn't seem to control at this moment in time, so instead he cooperated and sucked on Zoro's fingers. He closed his eyes and allowed his tongue to lave across his lover's skin, not protesting when a third digit entered his mouth. He sucked for a few moments longer before the swordsman pulled his fingers away and pressed them against his entrance.

His mouth fell open at the sensation and he arched his back even more, pecking the corner of Zoro's mouth awkwardly and closing his eyes to pant, as if giving him the go-ahead. Zoro pushed his fingers into him slowly, stroking the blond's ass cheek soothingly with his free hand. Sanji hissed at the intrusion - no matter how many times he did this, he found it impossible to get used to. He clenched his muscles instinctively, beginning to thrust back against the fingers as his lover slowly found a rhythm.

Zoro began thrusting his fingers in and out of his lover's body, slowly at first and then gradually gaining more and more speed. He grunted. The cook was a picture of lust. He was panting through his mouth constantly, little tiny moans escaping now and then. His face kept contorting, and the green haired man was almost surprised when he opened his eyes and peered down at him, his brow creased and one half lidded, piercing blue eye staring down at him though blond hair. Sanji leant down and kissed him desperately, beginning to thrust back harder and harder. Zoro pulled his fingers back, not wanting him to come so soon.

Wiping his moist fingers on the leafy ground, he reached between them to grab his dick with his other hand, positioning it at the cook's entrance and looking up at his lover to ask him if was okay. The blond nodded, pressing down on the swordsman's cock and impaling himself on the tip. They both hissed at the sensation, and Zoro screwed his eyes shut and bit his lip. Sanji moaned in deep little bursts, pressing down on his lover's dick until he was sat in his lap fully. He kept his eyes closed, panting through his nose for a few moments before beginning to move ever so slowly and gently.

Zoro released a drawn out moan that he'd been holding in when he was fully sheathed inside his boyfriend. He held onto his hips for a few moments as they got used to the feeling. Zoro grunted at the tightness - the cook's ass was like a tight glove enveloping his cock and he loved it. He looked back up at his lover's face, which was pinched in concentration. The blond started to rock his hips gently, releasing loud moans before he started to pick up his pace very gradually.

Zoro grunted and gripped the cook's ass cheeks, moving his own hips fractionally, as much as his current position would allow. His cheeks were blood red by now, his body flushed all the way to his toes, as was the blond's. Sweat was beginning to form on his brow, and he laid his head down on the soft ground - his previous position where he'd craned his neck was making him tired.

Sanji continued to move up and down hurriedly, breathing breathy words that sounded like jumbled curses and hisses of Zoro's name. He grunted, and opened his eyes to glance down at his weeping cock. He took himself in hand, stroking frantically, almost surprised that he'd neglected his own need. He was even more surprised however, when the swordsman's hand suddenly left his ass cheek to sweep back down on it harshly. He squealed, a sound that, judging from the look on his lover's face, he was going to regret for the next week or so. He glared as best as he could in his current situation.

Brushing off the blue glare of the cook, Zoro peered down between their two bodies, past the muscles that rolled beneath flesh, past Sanji's still frantic hand movements, to where their bodies were joined. He stared at the disappearing and reappearing flesh of his cock, transfixed almost, until the cook stopped moving, panting desperately and leaning forward to put his weight on his forearms, which were planted on either side of Zoro's fuzzy green head.

"Tired, ero-cook?" He jibed, smirking affectionately up at the other man and tucking a blond strand behind a very pink ear.

"Fuck you," Sanji panted, shooting a flushed scowl at the swordsman.

Zoro grinned, and suddenly flipped them both over so that his lover was beneath him. "I guess I need to lend some of my stamina," he said throatily, arranging himself above the cook and hitching his legs slightly to gain better leverage. His thrusts left no time for Sanji to recover from the sudden change of position, pounding into his body over and over again.

The blond moaned loudly at the onslaught of sensation, his legs quivering as the swordsman never failed to graze his prostate on every thrust. He hooked an arm around his lover's sweaty neck, moaning as his clammy pale hand wrapped around his torrid flesh, the tip a furious purple. He began fisting it quickly, squeezing his eyes shut and groaning. This wouldn't last long. He could feel the tension coiling in his gut, the twists of his impending orgasm fizzing around his body in waves. His moans mounted as he came closer to the edge, mingling with the swordsman's grunts - who still hadn't stopped moving, his stamina never failing them. With one final cry, Sanji came, his orgasm shooting across their bodies in white hot streams.

When it began to subside, his hand slowed, loud pants occasionally interrupted with tired moans of exhaustion. He unhooked his arm from his lover's neck, slumping on the dew-covered grass. Zoro continued to thrust, and Sanji glanced up at him through blond hair, smiling at him sexily, almost teasingly. With an energy that seemed harder to summon than after a long battle, he leant up, licking the swordsman's pierced ear to lick along a lobe, breathing on his flushed ear. "Come for me," he whispered, raking his nails down his muscled back softly.

The back beneath his nails arched suddenly and a loud grunt was buried into his neck as the other man came inside of him. Zoro panted into the cook's neck through his orgasm, thrusting into his body frantically. After a few moments, he slowed down, leaning against the cook's tired body. Sanji collapsed and landed on the ground, pulling the swordsman with him.

Zoro panted against the cook's flushed, warm chest, kissing it in thanks. The blond cradled his head against him, stroking a fuzzy sideburn with his thumb idly. He itched for a cigarette, but decided that they so rarely got to enjoy the afterglow of their trysts it was better to leave it for later.

He sighed before grinning boyishly and peering down at his lover's relaxed face. "Oi, Zoro," he murmured, a hint of mischief in his tone.

"Hm?" The swordsman replied, cracking open a green eye tiredly to look back up at him.

"I think we just desecrated some kind of holy place," he explained with a slight tomfoolery to his tone, his voice deep and heavy with fatigue and satisfaction.

Zoro grinned back, closing his eyes again and snuggling back against the cook's chest. "I think we did," he mused, smiling softly, "maybe we should start making our way back before the islanders start chasing us with pitchforks…"

Sanji snorted. "I doubt that would happen," he said, reaching toward his pants that had been discarded rather dangerously near the still-burning candles to fish out his matches and a cigarette. "So, was this better than meditating?" He asked, lighting up lazily, tossing the box to the side carelessly and placing the cigarette between his lips. He groaned tiredly as the smoke engulfed his senses, glad to have the familiar feel nicotine running through his veins again.

Zoro grinned and idly played with a random, blond chest hair that was growing near the cook's nipple, snorting at how it was the only one he found. Sanji gnashed his teeth at the swordsman's hand playfully, the two smiling contentedly. "Much better."

Before the others had woken up, the cook found himself kneeling in the bathroom leaning over the toilet bowl, heaving his guts out. After their fuck in the jungle the fortnight before they had returned to the ship to find the crew - namely Nami - rather annoyed that they hadn't showed up at the exact time they had wanted to leave the port. Sanji apologized to the navigator repeatedly and gave her and Robin extra dessert at their (rather late) dinner. The cook kicked Zoro in the head, insisting that it was his libido's fault that they had come home late and made his beautiful Nami-swan angry. Robin had only smiled enigmatically throughout dinner, as if she knew something they didn't.

"SANJIIIII! I'M HUUUNGRY!" Sanji cringed at the shrill voice of his captain, rubbing his head at the beginnings of what promised to be a pounding headache. He stood, leaning on the wall slightly at the sudden dizziness that overtook him, and wiped his mouth with a piece of tissue before flushing the chain of the toilet. He made his way up to the galley, knowing that the rest of his crew would be arriving for breakfast soon, if they hadn't already.

'I hope I'm not sick,' He thought, rubbing his head again.

Breakfast was the usual affair, with clashing of plates and cutlery, loud noises from the wondrous human digestive system, and lots of shouting and laughing from his nakama, but Robin and their small reindeer seemed to have noticed that something was wrong and kept sending worried glances towards the cook. The swordsman had (surprisingly) caught on as well, through his arguments over food with Luffy, noticing that he hadn't been called a shit-faced bastard or received his good morning kick yet.

Sanji stood at the kitchen sink with the dishes after the crew filed out, their voices drifting through the door and out onto the deck. He rubbed his forehead, feeling another wave of nausea overtake him again, and he leant over the worktop slightly.

"Sanji?" The cook glanced over at where the voice had come from, down at their doctor. "Is everything okay? You look really pale…" He said, genuine concern in his voice.

"I'm fine," the blond said, smiling reassuringly at the reindeer.

"Are you sure?" Chopper said, not convinced.

"Yeah, it's fine, I'm okay," Sanji replied, smiling again, but the expression on his face betrayed him.

Chopper knitted his brow. "Okay, well, if you really don't feel well come and see me," he said, turning to leave. Opening the door, he turned to face the cook again. "But you shouldn't be cooking, just in case you have an infection," he suggested, sending a pointed look to the other.

Sanji nodded. What the little doctor was saying was true, but he just didn't want to be sick, so he rummaged around his cupboard for a surgical mask and, placing it around his face just in case, began preparing the ingredients for lunch, determined not to let his condition stop him from working.

The cook continued with his preparations for lunch, only having to run to the bathroom to vomit once or twice and arriving just in time. He hoped it didn't look too suspicious to whoever was on deck, as he didn't have time in his haste to see who was playing on deck when he ran past them.

The meal came and went without incidents, apart from the worried looks he was now receiving from Nami, too, which was rather embarrassing - but he ignored them and continued to eat slowly, thankful for once for the distraction of their louder crewmates, even if it did nothing to ease his headache.

Once lunch was done, Sanji was left alone again to clear the dishes. At least he thought he was alone - as he was washing up he felt something invade his personal space and wrap its arms around him. He looked over his shoulder at the swordsman with slight confusion - it wasn't often he stayed long after a meal. He worried vaguely about what Nami or Robin would think if they saw the two of them like this - it was obvious they'd be heartbroken to discover that his heart belonged to Zoro. Not that it did, or anything.

"They're sunbathing, in case you're wondering," Zoro said, as if reading his mind, "and there's something wrong with you, so I'm far more concerned with that."

"There's nothing wrong, fuckface," Sanji insisted, his arms going limp in frustration beneath the soapy water. He lolled his head back against the swordsman's shoulder, exhausted after doing once what he'd usually be able to do five times over on a normal day.

"Stop bullshitting." He replied, pressing his face against Sanji's blond hair. "I think you should go lie down for a while."

Sanji groaned. The suggestion sounded more enchanting than any woman's voice, but he didn't want to leave his kitchen. The crew needed to be fed, after all, and the girls would be expecting their drinks-

"Go. Now." The swordsman said, pulling his hands out of the water and drying them on the nearby towel. Sanji smiled tenderly down at the action, leaning practically all of his weight against his lover's chest and closing his eyes tiredly. "Do you really want me to carry you in front of the women, Sanji?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow at the half-slumped form of his boyfriend.

The chef jerked, straightening himself out and making his way across the kitchen. Zoro barked out laughter at the predictability of the blond, receiving a very dignified glare from the cook as he strode - somewhat more ungracefully than usual - towards the galley door and across the deck to the men's quarters.

Sanji laid down in his bunk immediately, closing his eyes. He was surprised at how quickly sleep took him - he usually found it much harder to sleep and he found it nearly impossible, usually, to sleep when the sun was still out. He slept peacefully, uninterrupted by a need to vomit. It turned out to be one of the most fulfilling naps he'd had in a while.

I'm sorry for the slightly shorter length (was it shorter? It seems shorter to me) but what happens next is best left for a separate chapter. I hope the smut didn't fail to satisfy, and I'm sorry about the crappiness of that ending line. I think that my characterisation wasn't as bad for this one, but if you think I could've done better, pray tell. Comments are much appreciated~ ^_~


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: That island had Iseemed/I rather nice, normal, and pretty much like all the other islands they had visited so far - inasmuch as it had many pretty girls that Sanji liked to gander at and (unsuccessfully) flirt with. It also had an unusually high number of same-sex couples, or so he had presumed in most cases, and it wasn't until they had left the island some months ago that he realised why.

Comments: Chapter three. I hope this compensates for the total lack of other crewmembers in the first two parts *fails at life* Thanks for the comments, and enjoy~ ^_^

Robin closed the thick book on local history and folklore she had picked up on their previous island with a heavy clap. If they had been able to stay on the island longer she would've enjoyed going to study the shrine she had read about, but they had not needed to spend so long on the island. She wasn't too disappointed, as the book contained more than enough information on it to satisfy her inquisitive mind.

But there was something rather worrying she had discovered from the book. It appeared that this shrine - named after the islanders' goddess of fertility Salrynn - had some unusual qualities. Robin was no fool; she knew that the island had mostly same-sex couples - many of them with children, who looked surprisingly like both parents. Robin didn't mind this, but knew that same-sex couples usually carried the burden of not being able to produce children that were genetically theirs and usually adopted or found other means of producing offspring.

If her observations and conclusions were correct, it seemed that 'mating', as the book had put it, on this shrine bestowed fertility upon the couple, homosexual or heterosexual. She nodded. Another mystery solved. But what worried her was their cook's sudden illness.

The relationship between the cook and the swordsman was no secret - at least not to those who could read between the lines. Robin sighed as she realised what had happened. They'd obviously not realised where they were or what their actions meant. She almost laughed at the hilarity of it, but then decided that it was no laughing matter. This was serious. She glanced over at the navigator, who was resting on her stomach and still sunbathing, even though it was getting rather late for it now. The archaeologist reached to touch her shoulder to tell her about her revelation, but she was interrupted by a loud snore from the redheaded navigator. She smiled again, before standing to make her way to the infirmary.

She knocked on the door of their little doctor's quarters, and walked in at the invitation from the other side.

"Hello, doctor-san." She said, smiling at the small reindeer.

"Hi Robin," he answered, not looking back at her and grinding herbs in a pestle and mortar, "what's the matter?"

"I wanted to speak to you about cook-san," she said, leaning against the door, "I've found something out that might be of help."

Chopper looked at her, blinking, and Robin proceeded to tell him about her discovery.

"Wh- he's I_what_/I?" Chopper bellowed, and Robin hushed the reindeer with a gentle 'shh'.

"I believe he may be," she said, her voice quieter, "if what the book says is true, it's quite possible that he and Zoro have… mated on this shrine."

The doctor's face turned slightly pink. "Can I see that book please, Robin?" He asked, reaching a hoof out for the book the dark haired woman was holding. Robin handed it to him, and he began flipping through the pages quickly until he found the page on the effects of the 'ritual', as the book put it.

_I'The text on the Shrine - here written in the ancient language thought to be spoken by Salrynn and Her worshippers thousands of years ago denotes - "those who have expressed their love for each other in this Bed of Fertility will soon be blessed with child." To this day, many of Salrynn's worshippers - namely the islanders - have mated in this bed, praying for a child and leaving letters of thanks and gifts to Her at the Shrine of Salrynn. All have found their prayers answered.'/I_

Chopper frowned, knitting his brow in confusion. "But- it's not physically I_possible_/I for men to bear children," he began, "it doesn't make any sense…"

"Well," Robin replied, "the island did seem strange to me when we first arrived. I think, perhaps, that if what this book says is true, there is obviously something supernatural going on here."

"Hm," said the reindeer, "Maybe. But… if it's true, then I'll have to examine Sanji, and maybe Zoro too."

Robin nodded, but soon gained a thoughtful look. "The only problem is, Sanji doesn't want to admit he's ill," she pointed out, "and they might not react well to that," she added gravely, a hint of worry in her tone.

"Well… what do we do now?" Chopper asked.

"I suppose… you could give him something for his nausea," she started, lifting a folded arm to hold her chin on her thumb and forefinger, "even if he says he's fine, you must insist he take the painkillers, as his doctor. Do you know any recipes that could help the unborn child?" She asked, seeming to be working through the obstacles mentally.

"A few," the doctor replied, glancing over to his bookshelf, "but I didn't stock up on the right herbs at that island. I didn't know I'd be dealing with this… but I'll see what I can do with what I've got," He finished, nodding to himself with a hint of determination.

"Good," Robin paused, "the next few months should be rather interesting," she remarked, smiling a bitter-sweet smile.

Chopper smiled back, knowing that he'd have to do his best, for the sake of all three of them.

center*****/center

Sanji was having the strangest dream, which, considering the blond cook's rather odd imagination, happened a lot. But this one was exceptionally different.

In it, he was sweating. He reached a hand up to wipe the perspiration from his brow, and as he looked before himself, he could see he was on the Thousand Sunny. He figured the Grand Line must've decided to change its weather abruptly, as it was quite prone to doing. He walked across the deck towards the edge of the ship, hoping to get a harsh sea gale hit his face and cool some of the sweat that was now dripping off his skin in heavy droplets. No such luck. Instead, he pulled his blue button down over his head and dropped it at his feet, before reaching down to roll his pant legs up to his knees. As he stood, he glanced over the water, and not too far in the distance he could see a small basket riding on the waves.

As he looked closer, he saw what appeared to be a Moses basket. He shouted for the rest of the crew, but no one came. He brushed off his momentary confusion and dived over the edge of the ship, swimming over to the basket and gathering it in his arms, before swimming back to the ship quickly and climbing back on board.

Once on deck, he tried to catch his breath and put the basket on the floor. He sat in front of it cross legged, and lifted the lid off slowly. Inside the basket was a sleeping baby. Sanji stared down at the infant in awe, wondering what was going on and why he had found this child floating on the ocean. The baby had an angelic face, and the cook decided he or she couldn't be more than a few weeks old. He stroked the sleeping newborn's tiny head gently, smiling at the feeling of soft curls against his fingers. The child squirmed, gurgling slightly and started wriggling, before a loud scream erupted from its tiny lungs.

Sanji woke with a start, panting and sweating nearly as much as he was in his dream, before slumping back down in his hammock tiredly and closing his eyes again. He then opened them again quickly, sitting back up and clutching his stomach again at another wave of nausea. How long had he been asleep for? He glanced over to the wall where the clock hung - 17:26.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, trying to fight off the sickness he was feeling and standing up far too quickly. He sunk back down in his hammock again at the sudden dizziness that invaded his senses, groaning. It had been just over two weeks since these pains had started, and since then Chopper had been imposing more and more rules on the cook as the little reindeer's concern grew - one of them being afternoon naps, which, as Sanji was a rather restless person, he was quickly growing sick of.

center*****/center

A while later, Sanji managed to get up without having to vomit more than a few times in the toilet in passing. He walked through the galley door to find that chaos had erupted in his kitchen. Luffy, Usopp and Brooke were at the kitchen sink and accordingly, there were bubbles everywhere.

"Eh? SANJIII~!" Luffy shouted, causing the blond to squint and Brook to nearly drop a plate. "Ah-gomen. We knew you were sick so we decided to do some dishes for you," the captain explained, grinning like he thought it would get him a reward.

"I thought I'd lend my super-awesome-Usopp-dish-washing skills of doom to aid your recovery!" He got the doom part right.

"Oh," Sanji said, "that was nice of you. Now get the hell out of my kitchen, I need to cook dinner."

"Ah, well, Chopper said you're not allowed to cook," the skeleton said softly, holding a plate and looking slightly regretful and worried.

Sanji's brow twitched. "What?" He said, with the tiniest piece of venom he had the energy to put in there.

"Yeah, so we cooked for you!" Luffy exclaimed proudly.

The cook gave a defeated sigh, glancing around his kitchen. There was some liquid even he couldn't identify splattered on a wall, bubbles on the floor and the worktops, plates and cutlery strewn across every surface, pots and pans that Sanji didn't even know he had all over the place, hanging on the coat hangers near his head, and to the left of him, sitting lonely in a frying pan, was a fluffy purple… substance.

"What is that?" He asked, staring at it as if it were about to attack him.

"Spaghetti!" Said the captain, with the same pride in his tone that Sanji felt a need to kick out of him. "We saved some for you!"

The cook left the room. It was the best thing he could've done in that situation, as he didn't feel like adding blood to the list of things he had to scrub off of his counters and he was sure Franky would be quite upset if he damaged a part of their new ship. He sat on the staircase leading to the upper deck, yawning and burying his face in his hands irritably.

Still sitting with his face in his hands, trying to fight off the gagging sensation that was arising in his throat, the blond didn't see the swordsman approaching him with an expression that was somewhere between concerned and belligerent.

"Oi, cook," he said, "what's the matter?"

Glancing up at him, Sanji sneered slightly. "None of your business, fuckhead," he snapped, not in the mood for their nightly tennis match of insults, verbal or physical. He padded his hands around the pockets of his black slacks for his cigarettes.

"Jesus, sorry for asking," Zoro replied, shifting slightly and wiping the sweat from his workout from his brow with the back of his hand, "well, if you'd rather… what crawled up your ass and died, shit-cook?"

Sanji lit up a cigarette impatiently, as if it would somehow make him feel better. It only resulted in a violent coughing fit, which didn't happen very often to the chain-smoking cook. "I said, none of your business," he answered with slightly less venom than before.

Zoro stared at the cook disbelievingly, the coughing making him believe that there was something really wrong with the cook that couldn't just be slept off. "Have you spoken to Chopper yet?" He asked, trying to mask his concern for the cook but failing miserably.

"No, but thanks to him my kitchen looks like Usopp let off one of those grenades of his in there…" He grumbled, glancing back over to the galley where the sounds of his less intellectually gifted crewmates voices were floating through the walls of the kitchen.

Zoro frowned, and turned to walk away. "Well, he wanted to see you, anyway," he tossed over his shoulder, walking towards the men's quarters to change.

Sanji scowled at the retreating back of his lover, hating that that was the same back he had raked his nails down the night before. The cook spat the cigarette that was regrettably making him feel ten times worse overboard, before making his way to Chopper's quarters.

center*****/center

The blond stared down at the pair of pills in his palm with a frown.

"Please, Sanji, I know you don't want help, but please take them," Chopper said, and Sanji suddenly wanted to kick himself for being unable to resist the reindeer's puppy dog eyes - especially since he'd spent so long making the pills for him. "They'll really help you in the long run, they'll stop you being sick, and you'll be able to cook again," he finished, looking at the cook with pleading eyes.

Sanji sighed, and reached for the proffered glass of water on the doctor's desk. He swallowed the pills in one go, downing the rest of the water and slamming the glass back down when he'd finished. At least he'd be able to start cooking again.

"So… what exactly is making me sick?" He asked, looking at the reindeer tiredly.

Chopper tensed up, fiddling with the little tub of pills he'd made up for the man nervously. "Well, I'm not sure yet." It wasn't a lie, not quite, because he really wasn't sure. But he still didn't think it was best to tell the blond what he really thought could be the reason while he was in his current state, or Zoro, for that matter; it would most likely end up in a fight and that really wasn't best for either of them - especially Sanji, if he really was… pregnant. It seemed wrong to even think that for the doctor, because all his life he was told that only women could bear children, not men. It complicated the pregnancy, because there was no canal for the child to go through during birth, and that would mean Chopper would have to cut Sanji open and the reindeer really wasn't very skilled in this area, and he didn't know if the inside parts were the same as they were for women…

He must've been quiet for quite some time, because the cook was staring at him with a look halfway between absolute terror and concern for the little doctor. "It's serious, isn't it?" He asked, unblinking.

"No no no," Chopper said, and he almost regretted saying them because it really I_was_/I a serious situation. "I don't know yet, but I'd like to run some tests." Sanji outstretched his arm at this, apparently eager to find out what was causing the problem now. Chopper slapped himself mentally and pushed the cook's arm back to his side. "But I think you should get some rest now, because those pills will kick in soon and you'll be out like a light," he laughed nervously, patting the other's arm with his hooves.

Sanji blinked and stood, walking over to the door. "Okay," he said, "thanks, doctor."

"Try not to worry too much, I'm sure it's nothing," Chopper replied, mentally kicking himself for making it sound like it was nothing and potentially setting Sanji up for a nervous breakdown. If that happened it would surely be the reindeer's fault, he was sure of it, and then what would happen to the baby? He'd be kicked out of the crew and-

"I'll try not to," Sanji answered, forcing a smile over his shoulder, but he knew that it was a lie.

The next morning, Sanji woke up feeling rested and full of energy, despite his worrying the night before. And this time, he wasn't woken by a need to vomit, which was a nice change. There was no pang in his head at the distant sound of Franky hammering away at the ship, fixing some minor imperfection, or at the sound of laughter as his captain chased the sharpshooter around with a towel, trying to whip his ass. Sanji raised an eyebrow at the two, who didn't seem to have noticed that the cook was awake, and were still running around the men's quarters playing their perverse little game.

So he got up to dress for the day, before making his to the kitchen to make breakfast, which hopefully his nausea would not interrupt. It would seem that the ladies were not yet up, he thought, passing the currently empty spots where their deckchairs usually sat, prepared for another day of sunbathing after breakfast. He made his way up the small flight of stairs to the kitchen. When he arrived, he groaned when he realised that it was still rather messy, despite his crewmates attempts to clean it the night before. He mentally went over a few new kicks he was going to try out on them. With this in mind, he smiled, and instead of making breakfast, he set about cleaning the place.

About twenty minutes later, he was finishing up scrubbing some dried, unknown substance on the floor on his hands and knees, when he sighed and leant up to kneel. He tossed the washcloth into the sink before standing up again, trying to fight off the slight gagging sensation he got from the soap. He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of a deep cough.

"What do you want, Marimo?" He asked, scowling at the swordsman.

"Just admiring the view," Zoro answered with a smile that dripped with debauch.

Sanji glared at him. "Well, if that's all you're here for you can piss off, I'm not in the mood." He lied, stepping towards the sink and turning on the tap to wash his hands.

The swordsman pursed his lips slightly, knitting his brow. "Aw, don't be like that, pissface," he said, walking toward the cook slowly, and wrapping his arms about the cook's waist, he grinned, placing his hands on the cook's lower abdomen gently.

Sanji sighed, turning off the tap and drying his hands on a nearby towel. He looked over his shoulder at the other man, raising an eyebrow. "Well?"

"'Well' what?" Zoro answered, idly stroking his thumbs across the cook's belly. "I just wondered what you were doing is all… did Chopper say what was wrong?" He was failing to mask his concern for the other, but it seemed that he had been failing to do that for a long time now and decided that he was far too curious to pretend he wasn't anymore.

The blond rolled his eyes, lazily scratching at some stain he knew would not come off. "No," he answered after a long moment, "but he wants to run some tests, or something… I think I'll go bother him after breakfast." He flicked a stray crumb into the sink, refusing to make eye contact with his lover.

"Okay," Zoro answered, seemingly satisfied with that for now. He was about to ask the cook to tell him when he knew anything, but decided against it. Instead, he looked down at the blond's belly, rubbing the pad of a thumb against the flesh beneath his shirt gently. Sanji shivered. "You know, your muscle is getting kind of soft here," he commented, "you're not getting weak, are you?" He asked, not one to end an encounter with his rival without some snide comment.

Sanji glared over at him. "Would you like to find out?" He asked, tone dangerous. "Chopper made me a nice strong antidote to cure whatever the hell's wrong with me; I'm not a total vegetable yet," he finished, shooting a challenging smirk over his shoulder at the swordsman, who returned the look with just as much confidence.

"You're on," he said, smiling haughtily at the other, and Sanji felt almost endeared toward the other when he saw the glint in his green eyes at the prospect of a good fight. Almost.

He grinned at him, turning his gaze back towards his hands, which he rested on the swordsman's tanned ones. "Not right now," he replied, patting the swordsman's hands, "I have breakfast to make. I'm sure you're getting sick of eating whatever inedible concoctions the others have been making this week," he finished, pulling away from the other.

"Oh, Nami's cooking wasn't I_that_/I bad," he teased, ducking on automatic at the leg that swung toward his head.

"Get out of my kitchen, teme," he said, straightening his tie out subconsciously at the mention of one of his ladies.

Zoro laughed, stuffing his hands into his pockets and striding out of the door. "Don't worry, I won't tell her, Eyebrow," he said, his voice trailing off as the door swung shut.

The Eyebrow suppressed a smile, and got to work making breakfast.

Breakfast was louder than usual, as you would expect after a week of eating food that was of a far lower standard. Sanji made sure to give the ladies extra, despite their constant insistence that they were watching their figures. Instead, it ended up in Luffy's stomach, which was growing more and more round as he stuffed his face continuously.

"Sanji, are you feeling better now?" Chopper asked, eyeing the cook even as he ate.

"A lot," Sanji answered, smiling thankfully at the little reindeer.

"Well that's good," Nami said, attempting to cheer the tired-looking cook up. "Hopefully things might fall back into place with decent food on the table again," she mused, winking at the cook with a grin.

"Ah~ Nami-swan~" he cooed, his eye turning into a bright pink heart. "I didn't know you thought so much of me~"

Nami rolled her eyes. "Don't get carried away," she finished, reaching for her drink.

Sanji continued to grin like a fool, before Chopper cut through the loud sounds of the crew eating to speak to the cook in low tones. "If you're ready, after breakfast I can run some of those tests," he said quietly, knowing that the blond was quite eager to find out what the problem was.

"Okay," he answered.

center*****/center

Sanji winced slightly as the syringe was poked into his arm, sucking the blood out of his pale body. The reindeer deposited the red liquid into a thin glass cylinder, which he placed on a test tube rack on his desk. He then put a small blue plaster over the small spot where it had begun to bleed a bit, patting the cook's arm reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Sanji," he said, grinning at the blond. "You're in good hands."

The cook laughed nervously. "When will I get the results?"

The doctor tensed slightly at this as he realised that he would have to be the one to break the news to the other, but he locked the worry away for later when he would be able to freak out in peace. "Well… hopefully by tomorrow at the earliest, but if not, the day after," he answered, trying his best to sound calm.

"Okay," Sanji said, smiling at the other.

"Please don't worry so much," Chopper repeated.

"I'm not, I'm not," the cook said, "it's probably just some kind of tropical flu that hasn't passed yet. Give my body more credit than that, doctor," he said, smiling and taking a drag on his cigarette.

The reindeer smiled. "But… you shouldn't smoke if it is a tropical flu, Sanji-kun, it'll only make it worse." He said, his concern more for the developing foetus rather than the cook's lungs at this moment in time.

"Ah, I'll be fine," he said, waving a hand at the other. "If that's all, I have to go make lunch now." He said, getting up and walking over to the door with a smile. "Arigatou, Chopper."

"You're welcome," the reindeer said, long after the cook had closed the door. He looked over at the sample of blood on his desk, and set to work with his equipment with a sigh.

Okay, so this was written in dribs and drabs, so I'm sorry if it wasn't quite up to par with what you expected . Not much of a development in this chapter either, because it wasn't really right to tell them both just yet - it wouldn't happen so quickly anyway. Uhm… so yes, I started writing some of the other characters… do you think they were in character? The only one I haven't written yet is Franky, but I just couldn't think of where to put him in _ Maybe next chapter. Thanks for reading, and comments are much appreciated, as I'm sure you know by now


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Salrynn's Shrine

Word Count: 4178

Rating: M/NC-17/18 Whatever country you're in

Chapter: 4/?

Warnings: Yaoi, manxman, mpreg, lemon, angst, may contain spoilers, chapter two is not work-safe.

Disclaimer: Oda owns all. All bow to the Dark Lord.

Summary: That island had Iseemed/I rather nice, normal, and pretty much like all the other islands they had visited - inasmuch as it had many pretty girls whom Sanji liked to gander at and (unsuccessfully) flirt with. It also had an unusually high number of same-sex couples, or so he had presumed in most cases, and it wasn't until they had left the island some months ago that he realised why.

Comments: Slightly quicker update than planned. Its been about a week or so since I last updated (I think). Enjoy~ I'd also like to tell you that its really not going to be all sunshine and happiness - there will be angst. Be warned.

A large pair of brown eyes looked over the edge of the map at the distant, misty bump on the horizon, thin orange brows furrowed. "Epona?" Nami mumbled to herself, confused. They were not supposed to come close to the island for a couple more weeks, but she considered it a strike of luck for now, as the temperamental Grand Line had very suddenly decided to change its weather again in a matter of hours, resulting in a very sleepless night for those on board, as the heavy rain and strong gales had meant that Sunny had needed a lot of work to keep her afloat.

A deep rumble from above made her stuff the map back into her anorak pocket and yell for Franky to get the crew out onto the wet wood of the deck. "Hurry up!" She yelled, pointing into the distance as the others filtered out, "get her over to that island before the weather starts up again, we'll dock her there and wait this one out!"

The next half hour or so was a flurry of deep rolling thunder, a warning for the heavy rain that started hammering down on them half way to the island. Shouted commands from all areas were nearly drowned out in the angry voice of the heavens; lightning struck and lit up the sky as the crew ran and climbed and protected their home, before they finally found a fairly quiet side of the island, close to a beach. Zoro hefted the heavy anchor overboard with a slight grunt, before jogging into the galley to sit with the others.

Sanji placed a tray of warm cocoa and a plate of cookies on the table, placing the two with extra whipped cream on top in front of Nami and Robin, before taking a cup for himself and allowing the men to fight over their own.

"How long will it take for the weather to clear up, do you think?" The cook asked politely, sitting down next to the navigator and sipping his drink slowly.

"'Ah!" The captain said, trying to bite into a cookie and spitting crumbs everywhere as he spoke, "I wanna eggspore th'island," he said, a large collection of crumbs gathering in front of him on the table, and the towel that Robin had given him to dry his hair sliding off of his head.

"Don't talk to a lady with your mouth full!" Sanji hissed, slapping his captain upside the head. Luffy swallowed, before making an odd, whinging noise at the cook.

"I don't know," the redhead answered, fiddling with the handle of her mug and apparently deep in thought, "we weren't supposed to dock here for another couple of weeks - either we've been blown really off course by that sudden wind or I've miscalculated the distance between Epona and Salrynn," she added, "but either way, I suppose we should consider it a blessing, because we'd still be out in this storm if we hadn't arrived at this island so early," she finished, finally looking back up at her crew.

"That, and if we're ahead then that must be good," Franky said, fiddling with the door on the middle of his torso. "We can make any repairs we need to from the storm, as well."

"Yeah, and we don't have to spend as much money on food now," the blond said, glaring over at the others, who seemed to be playing (noisily) with the cookie crumbs and a spoon; Usopp was launching the little particles across the table like a catapult as the others looked on and laughed.

The topic of money seemed to cheer Nami up, who was feeling somewhat put down by the fact that she hadn't known the situation very well. "Of course." She answered, her tone slightly more cheerful. "Epona is inhabited, so we'll be able to repair and get whatever supplies we might need while we're here," she suggested, finally taking a sip of her drink.

Chopper seemed to light up at this, breaking away from the game he was playing with Brook, Usopp and Luffy to grin brightly, his expression made even more adorable by the dampness of his fur. "I have a few herbs I need to get," he said, looking over at Sanji for the slightest moment.

Sanji caught onto the meaning of the seemingly fleeting glance, which reminded him of his earlier conversation with the little doctor the day before. He decided to have a word with the little reindeer once they'd eaten. Robin watched the exchange with an enigmatic smile. "I'll make lunch," the cook said, standing and collecting the empty cups of his crew and walking over to the sink with a yawn. It seemed weird to offer lunch when it still looked like night time outside because of the storm.

Luffy cheered, but was interrupted by Nami, who stood, her blanket falling down to her waist as she did so. "Thanks Sanji, but I think we all need some sleep for now, we didn't get any at all last night," she suggested, ignoring her captain's pouting and pointing over at the swordsman who was propped up against the wall in the corner, snoring lightly with a snot bubble hanging out of his nose. Sanji glared at him. How vulgar.

Unable to resist the woman's tired looking eyes, he agreed with minimal swooning, before ushering everyone out of the kitchen. He considered looking over at the watch duty rotor that was plastered onto the wall of the kitchen, but he decided not to; they were well hidden away from any stray marine patrol ships that might be daring the harsh, untameable waves of the Grand Line, and he already knew that it was Usopp's turn and he felt somewhat sorry for the sniper, as he'd probably done more work than anyone that day and looked the most tired out of all of them - save for Zoro, who was literally sleeping, still propped against the wall in the corner. Sanji jabbed him in the ribs, knowing that the swordsman was ticklish and hated having his ribs poked.

Predictably, the green haired man jumped with a high pitched whine. He blinked his eyes open blearily, then closed them again at the sight of the cook. "Wha~at~?" He groaned, waving Sanji's face away.

"Bed, shitface, everyone's tired." The blond answered, turning on his heel and walking over to the door to collect his anorak, ready to bolt across deck to the men's quarters. He pulled the black garment on hastily, waving Zoro over (who, predictably, went out there in his usual clothes) and opened the galley door open a slither before they pelted across the deck and into the safe, warm men's quarters.

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An hour or so later, everyone was tucked into bed and catching up on their missed sleep, except Sanji, who was still feeling rather worried about himself. He contemplated getting up to take another of the pills Chopper had given him, but decided he much preferred the warmth of his hammock. The snores of his other male crewmates were almost drowned out by the sound of the sky fighting the sea, and the cook glanced over at his green haired lover, who was sleeping soundly in the hammock opposite him.

He watched him like this for several minutes, before he snapped out of it and cursed himself. There was no way he'd been looking at the Marimo with something akin to… Iendearment/I (it felt wrong to even say it), of course not. He decided that perhaps taking some more of those pills was a good idea, and he dragged himself rather reluctantly out of his hammock and started walking over to the lockers.

"What are you doing?" The gruff, tired voice of the swordsman pierced through the quiet of the bunkroom like the first roar of thunder through a cloudy sky.

"Getting a glass of water," he answered, too tired to argue, "can't sleep…"

"Why not?" Zoro asked, but he was already closing his eyes again.

"Feel sick," Sanji answered. It wasn't a total lie - he was feeling the beginnings of what promised to be a nasty stomach ache in his gut.

Zoro simply raised an arm out of his half-sleeping heap, a silent invitation to share warmth.

Sanji didn't protest, too tired, too sick and too stressed to bother. Instead, he strode over to the swordsman and burrowed himself into the crevices of the other man's body, groaning tiredly at the warmth. He vaguely regretted not taking the pills as his nausea began to intensify, but as he buried his face further into the tanned neck of his lover and felt strong hand stroke his back idly, he felt sleep begin to take him much more quickly, and soon he was in a deep sleep.

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It was near dinnertime when the crew awoke, and as such Sanji was the first to wake up - mostly so that the others wouldn't see him and fuckface all wrapped up in each other, with fuckface's hand on his butt. Even if it was only under the covers. At some point his blanket and pillow had mysteriously teleported onto Zoro's hammock, but Sanji didn't wake up or feel any movement. How strange. Anyway, the rain had since stopped and the blond walked out onto a very wet deck. The sky had cleared somewhat; it was still very grey and the smell of rain and lightning was thick in the air, but patches of blue were beginning to bend above the world, deeper greys fading away on the horizon.

The cook walked across the deck and into the galley, blanket wrapped around his shoulders because of the sharp chill that was often left behind after heavy rain. He placed his blanket over a chair, quite pleased to have a few moments to himself. Strangely, he didn't feel too nauseous. Perhaps it was only a morning thing? Sanji snorted and giggled to himself as he was quite prone to doing. Morning sickness? Maybe he was-

"Good morning, cook-san." Robin's voice was like… a robin's voice in the early morning, or so Sanji thought.

"Good morning, Robin chu-waaaa~n~!" He swooned, his visible eye a bright red heart. Robin was often one of the earliest up - even at this time of day. She smiled mysteriously, pulling away from the fanatical blond and moving sit down at the table. "Could I get you anything to eat? Or a drink?" He asked, still swooning.

"I'll have a coffee, please," she said, smiling at him and resting a hand on her chin.

"Right awaaaay~" He bellowed, spinning around the make the coffee at lightning speed. He turned around with a tray and two cups on it, placing it on the table. He sat opposite the archaeologist, pouring her a cup of coffee, hearts floating around his head.

"How are you feeling today?" Robin asked, curious as to how the doctor was treating the blond.

Sanji grinned even more foolishly. "Well, well," he tried to ignore the nausea that tried to spike up at that point, instead sipping the coffee he poured for himself, "Chopper gave me some excellent medicine for my sickness, so I'll be back on my feet in no time."

Robin smiled again, sipping the coffee that was in front of her. "That's good to hear."

"You know, Robin-chan, you always make me feel much better," Sanji said, smiling at the other woman with a goofy smile.

"I'm sure I do," the dark haired woman replied, her smile curling into a sly smirk as she drunk from her coffee cup, "but I'd hate to intrude on your relationship with swordsman-kun," she finished, setting her cup down on the table.

If Robin had not been a lady (and a very lovely lady at that), the cook would've spat his coffee across the table. But being the gentleman that he was known for being, he simply swallowed the mouthful of coffee that had risen dangerously to his nose with a wince. After a few minutes of flustering and wiping his mouth and weeping eyes with a napkin, he looked over at the archaeologist, panting slightly. "R-relationship?"

It took everything in Robin not to outright laugh at the cook's expense, but she managed to suppress it into a gentle smile. "Sanji-kun, its hardly a secret," she said softly, looking the other in the eye.

This was not happening, it couldn't be - he'd obviously hit his head at some point when they were trying to make an emergency docking at Epona - no way that anyone could've Ipossibly/I known about it unless- oh God. He would surely die now. Head injury, yes, head injury… he apologized to the miserable old geezer in his mind repeatedly at not finding All Blue, though if he had another chance he would surely -

"Cook-san?"

"Sorry, Robin-chan…" He pinched himself. Ow. That hurt. He had a hard pinch… so this wasn't a dream. Nor was he dead.

"It's alright," she said, "I simply guessed, with the way you two look at each other," she added, trying to calm the cook down.

"ILook/I at each other?" Sanji asked, truly curious now.

"Yes," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You exchange looks I can only interpret as love, treat each other as such," she said, stroking the rim of the mug with her thumb idly and not breaking eye contact.

"Oh," Sanji said, looking down at his hands, "I didn't think sneering and glaring were things that lovers did, to be honest," he'd never do that to Robin-chan, or Nami-swan…

Robin laughed. "Perhaps then, you should try and look deeper the next time swordsman-kun looks at you," she finished, standing to walk towards the door, taking her mug with her. Sanji watched her leave, possibly even more confused than before. He pushed it to the back of his mind for now; he'd think about it once dinner was over and done with.

center*****/center

Dinner was a louder than usual affair; it seemed that the lack of one meal in the day had made the crew even hungrier. The rain had picked up again as they started eating; it seemed that the Grand Line was reluctant to give up so easily. But it was not accompanied by thunder or lightning, so the evening passed quite peacefully, save for Sanji kicking Zoro in the head (after everyone had left, of course, because he'd hate for his ladies to see such vulgarity) for being so obvious.

"Ow!" Zoro whined. "What the fuck was that for, kuso-cook?"

"Teme. Robin knows." Sanji replied, raising a leg to kick the other man again as he drew Wadou.

Zoro rolled his eyes briefly before he pulled her out with a smirk. The rain had meant that he hadn't been able to train, but this would suffice as well as the night he had spent pulling ropes, lifting anchor and diving overboard to save his captain. He dashed toward the cook, aiming for a blow to his midriff, but he missed; the cook dodged out of the way and lifted a leg to strike Zoro's back with a knee, but just as his knee brushed the swordsman's back a sudden searing pain in his gut made him cry out. He stumbled back toward the galley table, leaning on his arm and wincing, clutching his stomach with the other arm. "Shit!" He yelled, sinking to the floor and doubling over, wrapping both of his arms around his belly.

"Sanji?" Zoro asked, sheathing Wadou and rushing over to the cook, concern written all over his face, "I'll get Chopper," he said, trying to keep it out of his tone.

Zoro ran across the kitchen to the infirmary and returned with the little reindeer in a few moments. Chopper looked at him worriedly, having a slight mental freak out before he started tending to the cook. "What's the matter? Is it hurting in your abdomen?" He asked, fretting only slightly and rummaging around his doctor's bag for a stethoscope.

Sanji nodded, face etched into a grimace. He sat up more when Chopper reached to press his stethoscope against his lower abdomen. The reindeer moved it around a few times, before wrapping it around his neck and resting it on his shoulders. He then reached into his bag again and pulled out a jar of painkillers he'd been working on for the cook. He asked Zoro to get him a glass of water, and handed them to the blond, instructing him to swallow both of the pills. Sanji did so, and looked back up at the doctor as the pain slowly started to subside. "Can you walk?" He asked, but Sanji had already tried to stand. Zoro watched the exchange from behind Chopper, ready to catch the cook when he (undoubtedly) fell, but to his surprise the blond continued to walk, still hunched over, to the infirmary door.

I'As if I'm going to let you help me, bastard,'/I He thought, stumbling through the door and laying down on the doctor's bed as soon as he could.

Chopper rushed in after him, followed by Zoro who walked at a much more leisurely pace. Once they were all inside the doctor's quarters, the little reindeer rushed about his desk frantically, sweating and trying to keep his freaking out at a minimum. Truth be told, Zoro wasn't even sure what he was still doing here - the cook could take care of himself. But he decided to stay, because he was curious to know what was wrong with the love-cook.

Sanji laid on the small bed, squirming slightly and trying to relieve the pain in his gut. "What's wrong with me, Chopper?" He asked, truly curious and very frustrated with his constant nausea now.

Chopper froze up as he reached for the blood sample he'd taken the day before. It should be ready now - it had been 24 hours. But he turned toward the blond slowly before speaking. "It's nothing serious," he said, "I think you've just strained yourself a bit." He paused before he spoke next, "but if it is what I think it is, you're a lot more fragile now." He turned around to look at the blood sample and the small array of testing apparatus on the corner of his desk, before he started fiddling around with the different instruments to read the results.

Sanji and Zoro looked at each other briefly, as if questioning each other on what they knew. The swordsman found himself very suddenly intrigued. He had thought that the cook had some kind of flu or something, but judging from the tense look in the doctor's eyes, it seemed as though it was something more serious. He hoped, fleetingly, that it wasn't anything life-threatening, but he brushed it off, knowing that it wasn't an issue. Sanji wouldn't die just because of some stupid virus - he'd endured more than that. The blonde, on the other hand, was now worrying more, both because of Chopper's tense demeanour and now because of the anxious look in the swordsman's eyes as well.

After a few minutes of fiddling with the medical apparatus and consulting a heavy navy medical book with a broken spine that the doctor had purchased at Salrynn, the reindeer turned around and fiddled with his hooves for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to put what he wanted to say into words. "Sanji…" he said, not looking up at the two men who were staring at him expectantly, "I don't know how to say this…" He paused for another moment, "but… the results from the test I took, and the book's explanation all point to one conclusion, and that is-ah…"

"Spit it out," Zoro said, a bead of sweat falling down his temple.

"You're pregnant, Sanji." He finished, staring at his hooves with wide eyes.

A long silence stretched over a couple of minutes, the words ringing around the infirmary. Pregnant? That made absolutely no sense. He was a man. Men didn't carry babies. Women did. Sanji stared at the doctor for some time. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" He finally said.

"No," Chopper said, eyes welling up, "Robin said there was a shrine on that last island that got people pregnant and then you started being sick and I read in a book somewhere about this kind of phenomenon and I really really didn't want you to be angry with me!" He rambled on.

"We're not angry with you," Zoro said gravely, trying to keep the horror out of his tone.

"You're not?" Chopper answered with a sniff.

"No," Sanji replied. "I'm… I feel sick," he said, genuinely feeling a strong gagging feeling rising to his throat. The reindeer ran to get a bowl for the cook, who took it and immediately started heaving his guts into it. Zoro looked over at him, watching him vomit for a moment before turning to look at the floor. Well, this sucked. What the fuck was he supposed to say now? After Sanji had stopped being sick, he turned to leave.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going, shithead?" He asked, voice hoarse. I'You think you can leave me to deal with this on my own, fucker?'/I

The swordsman turned back around. "I didn't think you'd want me here," he explained, knowing that the cook would probably get even more stressed if he stayed.

The cook didn't know what to say. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't pregnant - he'd obviously hit his head and this was all some stupid, absurd dream he was having. But what the swordsman had said wasn't true. He wouldn't be able to stay sane without him here. He'd never admit that out loud, of course not. "Fine, if you're that fucking scared," he said, sneering at the other man.

Zoro glared at him. "I don't think I'm the only one that's scared," he admitted, folding his arms. This wasn't the time to be exchanging childish insults.

Sanji was rather taken aback. "T-this is your fault, asshole!" He shouted. He knew it was a pathetic insult because, well, it takes two to tango and all that crap.

"Of course it is," Zoro said, rolling his eyes. "Now I want to leave," he mumbled, turning to leave the infirmary. The sound of the door shutting seemed to echo for miles, and Sanji stared at it for what seemed like hours. He turned to look at the doctor who was watching him with concern. The cook wanted to cry, but he knew that it would be stupid to. He didn't really know what to say, but he wanted to know what the fuck was going on.

"How… How am I… pregnant?" He asked, furrowing his brows at the surreal quality of the whole event.

Chopper explained what Robin had told him, and showed him the passage in the book. He asked Sanji if he and Zoro had been together on the shrine, and the blond wanted to deny it, but he knew it was fruitless now. He thanked the reindeer for explaining things to him, before rising to walk over to the infirmary door.

"Will you be okay?" Chopper asked.

"Yeah, if I take those pills you made me," he answered, fiddling with the door handle and rubbing an eye with the other hand. He would need those tablets tonight; he'd never get to sleep if he didn't take them. He bade he reindeer a goodnight and made his way to the men's quarters. He just wanted to forget the entire incident.

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Well well well! The cat's out of the bag, folks. I feel very odd about this chapter. It feels awfully soon after posting the previous chapter, and it doesn't feel very long either… hm. I'm sorry about the lack of character depth and exploration into how the two feel in this chapter - I felt it was best to leave it for a separate instalment. Tell me what you think, guys~! Comments are appreciated muchly.


	5. Chapter 5

The weekend passed without the swordsman or the cook even looking each other in the face. Sanji cooked, Zoro trained, Chopper flipped out in his private time because it was somehow his fault. They stayed out of each other's way. Monday, however, was decidedly much better (in terms of weather at least), and the crew of the Thousand Sunny awoke to a fairly dry deck, except in the shadowy corners of the ship. When the crew filtered into galley, they were pleasantly surprised (and damn near a seizure in Luffy's case) to find a table covered in what looked like a good-morning feast.

"Uwaaah!" Meshiiii~~!" The captain bellowed, followed by a string of nonsensical noises as he started inhaling the food that was in front of him. Nami clocked him around the head, telling him to stop being so noisy because she had a headache already goddammit, and sat down to begin eating. Soon, everyone was sat around the kitchen table, except for their swordsman.

The cook, on the other hand, was in the kitchen behind the crew, furiously kneading bread dough and sucking on an unlit cigarette. He was staring blindly at the flour that peppered the worktop, refusing to look at the rest of the crew.

"Oi, Sanji!" Usopp called around a mouthful of food, "Aren't you going to come eat?"

The blond didn't reply for a moment, but he paused in his almost frantic kneading. "I'm not hungry," he finally replied, scowling down at the worktop. Usopp was slightly taken aback and cast a worried glance towards Robin, who simply smiled reassuringly from beside him and continued to eat anyway, before it all disappeared into his captain's rapidly inflating stomach.

Sanji finished kneading the bread and slid it into the oven, before he finally lit his cigarette and walked outside onto the deck. He leaned over the railing and ran his fingers through his blond hair. He took a long drag on his cigarette, groaning as the nicotine engulfed his senses. He should really give up if he was- what he was. He knitted his brow and stared down at the calm waves that rocked the ship like a cradle. What the hell was he going to do? He couldn't have a kid. It just didn't fit into the grand scheme of things. He couldn't be a pirate and raise a child. And there was no woman. It just wasn't fair on the kid.

Then again…

The old geezer was a pirate, as were all the other men on the Baratie. And they raised him. And he'd turned out okay.

He heard the telltale clank of metal from the gym overhead. Zoro. The stupid bastard hadn't eaten breakfast. A part of his mind decided to remind him that he hadn't eaten breakfast either, but he ignored it. He'd eat when he felt like it, whenever that would be.

"Oi! Fuckface!" He yelled. No answer. He mumbled a string of curses under his breath, before grabbing onto the railing roughly and climbing swiftly to the top. He swung open the latch of the little room, stepping up quickly and staring at the swordsman's bare, tanned back, trying to ignore how the firm muscles moved under tanned flesh. "Zoro," he repeated sharply.

Nothing. Not even a turn of his green, brainless head. The weights just kept moving, up, down, up, down. Sanji felt as if he were having a conversation with the constant clinking noises instead of his asshole of a lover. "Zoro, look at me," he said, eyes narrowing.

They finally stopped. Zoro slowly lowered the weights to the ground, where they landed with a gentle thud. He wiped the sweat off of his brow and finally turned to look at Sanji with an expectant expression, panting slightly. "What do you want me to say?" He asked, staring the other man in the eye.

Sanji lowered his gaze to the floor, suddenly feeling very stupid and inadequate. "Anything," he answered, "I hate being avoided… say whatever's on your mind, I've just had enough of dealing with this alone." He finished. It didn't come out quite as pointed or matter-of-fact as he'd hoped, and the weakness in his tone annoyed him, but he needed to speak to Zoro. As helpless as he felt at that moment, he wanted nothing more than for the other man to say something to him.

"What's on my mind? Okay, well, there's something inside you that's going to grow into a kid pretty soon." Zoro said, reaching for his towel and wiping more sweat from the back of his neck.

The blond looked at his feet. "I know that," he mumbled, "what do you want to do about it?"

"You mean, how do I feel about it?" Zoro asked, looking back at the cook. "Whatever happens, happens. If I'm meant to be having a kid now, then that's what's meant to happen. We'll just have to go from there."

"What about what I want?" Sanji asked.

"What do you want?" Zoro answered, looking at him seriously.

Sanji was silent. He wasn't adverse to the idea of having children, in fact, he wanted them at some point in his life. He just didn't think it would happen now, under these circumstances, and he wasn't sure if he wanted it to. "I-" he started, but he knew that no amount of arguing or talking was going to make that decision for him.

Zoro paused and sighed, looking out through the small window at the greyish horizon. "Right," he started a few moments later, "go out today. Go… look at food or fuck women or whatever it is you do on these islands. Have a long, hard, think. Then come and speak to me and we'll talk about this like civilised people."

Sanji felt mildly insulted that a swordsman just said he was uncivilised, but he let it go. "Fine," he mumbled, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He left without a word, opening the hatch and climbing down the ladder to the deck.

Yeah, today was going to be much better.

Sanji's face melted into a strange arrangement of facial organs as a pair of thin young women walked past in rather provocative clothing. Park benches were wonderful inventions. As he sat down and stared at the various women who passed him, he kept getting this strange rumbling pain in his belly that used to give him nightmares, and he realised that he should really eat something.

But just as he was about to stand and go back to the ship to make something, a slim woman sat down on the bench next to him. She arranged the pram in front of her so her child was facing her. With a few affectionate baby noises, she pulled the tiny thing from its bed and held it in her arms to began rocking it slowly. The child was dressed in pink, so Sanji assumed it must be a girl.

"Good afternoon," he said politely, smiling at her.

She turned to him and smiled back widely. "Good afternoon," she replied.

"How old is she?" Sanji asked, nodding at the woman's child.

"Two months," she answered, smiling proudly down at the infant.

"She's very cute," the blond replied. "What's her name?"

"Epona," the woman said, "after the Goddess of the island."

Sanji noted, fleetingly, that the appearance of Goddesses along this particular chain of islands was a growing trend. He'd ask Robin about it later. "That's a pretty name." He said.

"Do you have any children?" She asked, trying to make conversation, it seemed.

Sanji paused. "Sort of," he replied.

"Sort of?" The woman asked, turning to look at him with a confused expression. A look of realisation dawned on her face. "Is your wife pregnant?" She said excitedly.

Sanji blinked. "Uhm, yeah, my wife," he said, looking down at his hands.

"Oh, congratulations," she said, smiling widely.

"Thanks," Sanji mumbled.

"How far along is she?" The woman asked, rummaging around a bag on her pram for a moment before she produced a bottle and held it to her fussing child's mouth.

"Oh, uhm… only a few weeks," he said, "we only just found out."

"I see," she said, feeding the baby in her arms. "Are you happy about it?"

Sanji paused. "I- we're not really sure," he admitted. "We don't really know if it's the right time, or if we're the right kind of people to be having children," he explained slowly.

"Well - forgive me for sticking my nose in - but you want to know what I think?"

Sanji nodded.

"I think that babies only come when they're meant to come. If they weren't meant to be, then they'd never have even been conceived." She paused to wipe her daughter's chin. "And about you not being the right people? I think that children are meant to happen when they happen, to the people they're meant to happen to. Even if it seems like the worst possible time."

Sanji nodded absently, looking down at his hands. In some aspects, what the woman said was true. How likely was it that they would just happen to stumble across an island that made men pregnant? The Grand Line was a weird ass place, but that just took the cake. "But how am I supposed to deal with a child? I have no experience with them at all."

"Well, I never had any experience with children at all before my husband and I had Epona," she answered, "but ever since I've had her, I've just been getting better and better." She giggled in a heart-meltingly cute way, and Sanji sighed.

"Well, thanks for the talk," he said, standing. "But I should be getting back now. Goodbye, miss."

The woman waved after him. "Good luck!" She called.

"Thanks," Sanji said back.

Sanji came back home in time for an early dinner, so he immediately began preparing ingredients while remaining in deep thought. What the lady in the park had said was very true; he probably would just learn to deal with the kid over time. Money was hardly a problem, because they stole a lot of stuff anyway and he was sure Nami-swan wouldn't mind lending some of her money (he hoped, rather). It was really just a matter of getting the essentials and having another mouth to feed.

What about quality of life? Being born and raised on a pirate ship full of lunatics and having a brash, booze-drinking, body-building, foul-mouthed sword fanatic as a father and a kickboxing, foul mouthed, perverted cook as a… mother? No, no, father, definitely. Well, one thing was for certain - this child had no chance of sanity.

But he guessed that any child of his was going to be at least a bit crazy, so it was kind of a stupid thing to be worrying about. At least it would be loved.

With this in mind, he finished preparing the ingredients and got to work making dinner. He'd speak to Zoro later on that evening.

Dinner was, as usual, rather loud. But it was much more enjoyable for Sanji that evening because he'd sorted out what he wanted to say to Zoro, who was rather surprised at his sudden change in attitude. But Sanji ignored his confused glances to enjoy himself, since it had been so long since he'd had so much fun.

After dinner, most of the crew lingered to play cards in boredom, as the rain had since picked up and the crew couldn't find it in themselves to find their own respective areas to do whatever ungodly things they did when alone. Sanji made sure that he very slowly cleaned his workspace because he knew that the rain would stop soon and he'd have to speak to Zoro. But the rain didn't stop. It carried on and on and on for what seemed like hours, and eventually Sanji couldn't stick it anymore. He quickly finished up wiping the work surface down and went toward the hatch that lead to the aquarium bar, motioning briefly for Zoro to follow. Robin seemed to notice this and gave a small, enigmatic smile as they left.

Sanji lit a cigarette and leant against the table languorously, taking a long drag on the cigarette. It would be his last one for a while, he decided; if he was going to have a child he would make sure that he or she would be as strong as they could be.

Zoro looked over at him from near the aquarium, where he was stood. He was eying Sanji with interest; there was definitely something different in the cook's demeanour here. But what was it? He opened his mouth to speak, but Sanji beat him to it.

"You know how you said to think about it?" He asked. His voice sounded rather quiet.

"Uh-huh," Zoro replied, folding his arms and leaning against the thick glass of the tank.

"Well, I did."

"And?"

"I think that what you said was true, to some extent," he answered, flicking his ash in the nearby ashtray. He didn't even really feel like smoking, now that he knew he couldn't.

"Oh yeah?" Zoro said, fighting down the small spike of hope that jolted in his gut at the words.

"I think that I- we should do this," he explained, finally looking over at the other man. "Not just because I feel obligated but because I think that this is meant to happen. Even though this kid has absolutely no chance of ever being normal, and he or she will be living with a load of wanted criminals… even though we're probably the worst candidates for being parents… it feels like it's just meant to be. I know it sounds corny, but that's just the way I feel about it."

Zoro stared at the floor.

"And, as an orphan myself, I don't think I could ever forgive myself if I got rid of this child. By… aborting it or putting it up for adoption on some random island. It's just something I couldn't do. You can call me weak or whatever you want, but I-"

"Sanji." He said, and the blond was mildly surprised to see that the swordsman had stepped in front of him. He rested his hands on the table either side of Sanji's hips, where the cook was half-perched on the table's edge. The swordsman looked him right in the eye. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

Sanji stared right back and nodded. "100% sure," he replied.

"This isn't something that will just go away if you change your mind."

"I'm not going to."

Zoro stared at him for a few moments longer, before he pulled back with a much less intense expression on his face. "Well good. I'm looking forward to teaching it the art of Santoryuu." He said as he walked away, sticking his little finger in his ear and cleaning it out with a loud yawn.

Sanji glared briefly before he ran to catch up with him. "Not before it learns how to cook," he said, "and kick box…" he added, his voice trailing off as they headed to the men's quarters.

Zoro woke in the middle of the night, but with a lot less intensity than he had been waking with for the past few days. He'd been in such a dark mood recently that even Luffy and picked up on there being something wrong and had begun avoiding him. At least he'd gotten some good training in.

Nonetheless he looked down at the slumbering blond idiot who was wrapped all around him in his bunk. Sanji was a silly creature. All caught up with thoughts about feelings and life and philosophy and other subjects that gave Zoro a headache. But even he had to admit that this one took him by surprise. It was still fucking weird to think about, having a kid and all, but he was happy with the way it worked out. He wasn't sure he'd be able to live with himself either if they'd taken Option B.

Yes, this was definitely the best option. He tried to ignore how Sanji would be flipping out over the coming weeks about the girls knowing about their relationship (even though they both already knew), getting fat (which was normal) and other things like what the kid would need which Zoro wasn't sure Sanji was all that informed on either.

Instead he focussed on what he was going to teach him or her in a few years time. Santoryuu basics, meditation, kendo sticks… it was actually quite exciting to think about. With all of these ideas in mind, being a dad didn't really seem that hard. Maybe it was because he was looking at it in the context of swordplay (which he was good at). Yeah, that was probably it. Nevertheless he reasoned that he wasn't the worst candidate in the world for fatherhood (which Sanji would probably argue with, but he argued with him about everything). Zoro could think of a few people who would be worse than him. Namely, Luffy.

With these thoughts in his head, Zoro drifted off into a much more peaceful sleep.

Ah~ Oh my God, I finally finished. I'm really sorry for the long wait; as I mentioned up the top there my life has been insane and I recently started a new project (go me _). Sorry again, and thanks for reading~!


	6. Chapter 6

Sanji poked cautiously at the large, orange, dead-looking thing that the Marimo had dumped unceremoniously onto his kitchen counter. Said Marimo was now looking at him from the side like there was some kind of reward involved.

"And what do you call this thing?" Sanji asked, chewing on the nicotine gum like it was his life source.

Zoro shrugged. "Dinner ala Zoro."

Sanji glared. "You know, basic survival instincts usually tell you that brightly coloured things are often poisonous. Thank you for validating my suspicions that you do not, in fact, have any survival instincts to speak of."

"Che, that's what I get for trying to help," Zoro mumbled, turning to walk out of the galley.

"Hey! Take your… thing with you!" Sanji called, and gave a satisfied scowl when Zoro returned.

"Sorry, I forgot that being pregnant makes you ~_frail~" _Zoro teased, and lumped the thing over his shoulder with such force that several spurts of purple fluid flew out of its mouth.

Sanji bristled. "Asshole!" He hissed, " and what if the girls heard you?"

Zoro rolled his eyes. "They already know, I've told you this before. And even if they didn't, everyone's going to know that I ~_deflowered~ _your _~rose~ _pretty soon anyway."

Sanji spat the gum into the bin and picked up the nearby mop, only to crack it over the swordsman's head. "Clean the damn fish blood off of my floor, or yours will be joining it," Sanji threatened lowly, glaring at the other man.

"It's more of a fungus than a rose…" Zoro countered, but began to mop the kitchen floor begrudgingly anyway.

Sanji ignored him and stormed out, slightly sunburnt feet padding against the warm deck. Since the rain had stopped, the sun had apparently decided to intensify in heat about a million times, and began burning all the puny humans on the planet to a crisp like tiny little ants. The sun was something that Sanji was not very fond of. It made his skin singe and peel and that wasn't very becoming for the girls to see, so he was forced to wear his black suit around the ship in stupidly hot weather. They'd been docked at Epona for just over a week now, and the weather had been like this for a few days, which had forced Sanji to wear said suit at mealtimes or to bring the girls' their colourful drinks. At some point the cook had nearly fainted from the heat which, in turn, caused Chopper to confiscate all winter gear and formal wear from Sanji's trunk until the weather cooled down.

Zoro had laughed when he saw the reddish stains on his body that night, had poked at the sore peeled patches until Sanji kneed him in the thigh and told him to stop doing that if he wanted to get laid ever again. Zoro bought him a bottle of sun block at the market the next day.

In fact, Zoro gave him a lot of things (even if he hadn't bought them with his own money). The fish, the sun block, booze at the bar occasionally. And this baby thing. Sanji sighed. Zoro was such an ass.

He fished around the pockets of his swimming trunks for a moment before he produced a mostly full packet of cigarettes. He stared at it mournfully in his palm for a minute before he threw the thing overboard. It was only nine months.

They ate dinner as usual, and then returned to the deck for a party of sorts. A bundle of candles created a mock-campfire as Usopp told ridiculously far-fetched stories to the rest of the crew, about dragons and mermaids and a hero called Sogeking. Chopper, Luffy and Brook listened intently while the others lounged around distantly, listening but not really paying attention.

As Sanji looked up at the sky, he scanned the stars and the moon fondly, at the distant orange glow on the horizon of the day leaving them languidly. Sanji decided that growing up on a pirate ship probably wouldn't be that bad for the kid. It had people around it that would look after it at least.

The next day, the crew set out from Epona, once again heading into an endless blend of sea and sky after having changed course.

"But why can't we go and visit all those other islands?" Luffy whined with a dramatic pout, sitting on the large sofa in the Aquarium Bar with his legs crossed and holding his ankles boyishly.

Nami glanced up at him agitatedly from studying her map; her feet were rested on the bar table at the centre of the room lethargically, a slightly crumpled map resting on her thighs and her sunglasses pressed up onto her head. "Because the other five islands on the Glordonia chain are marine towns! If we go within ten kilometres of the next island we'll be ambushed by at least twenty patrol ships. Those islands are fortresses and I'm sorry but they're just things we can do without right now," she explained, slightly exasperated from the captain's complaints.

"But they're adventures!" Luffy protested, sounding as though he were close to tears. "Think of all the treasure we could get, or the people we'd meet!" He added, his voice filled with childlike wonder.

Nami's brow twitched with frustration at the sound of any money she could be missing out on, but she knew better. She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes tiredly, before speaking slowly to the boy like he was far younger than his actual age. "Luffy, these islands may be marine towns but that doesn't necessarily mean they're full of riches. The other islands of Glordonia are called the 'Ugly Stepsister Islands' because they have very boring natural terrains, they're not wealthy in the slightest and they are totally dominated by the marines. The most fun you'd ever have there would be watching the paint dry on their dull, grey buildings." She finished, opening her brown eyes and looking over at Luffy pointedly.

Luffy frowned once more but then announced that he was hungry, despite only having finished lunch less than half an hour ago, and headed for the galley for something to eat. Nami sighed once he had left, happy that he had bought her story.

"Ugly Stepsister Islands? That's an interesting name," Robin said from the side with a slight smile on her elegant features.

"Yeah well, I'd like to see you do better," Nami said, and went back to studying her map. "Don't, though," she said, knowing that the other woman probably had a whole list of better lies in her intelligent mind. Robin only giggled softly.

"MAAAARIIINES!" Usopp bellowed from the deck, and Nami sighed loudly.

"I knew this would happen," she said, and planted the map down on the table irritably, almost knocking the ornamental decanter off of the surface.

Robin stood and joined Nami as the two women ran to the deck. Once there they joined the rest of the crew in their battle preparations as the two heavily armed marine ships approached from the starboard side. Zoro drew Wadou and placed her between his teeth excitedly, Usopp ran, screaming, to the cannons, Chopper fearfully became his human-reindeer form, Nami connected the poles of her staff together and Sanji tapped his foot on the wooden deck in anticipation. Luffy eventually emerged from the galley, half a loaf of bread in his mouth and chewing lazily.

Sanji and Zoro exchanged a brief, worried look, but they adverted their eyes as soon as they connected.

'Che, think that I can't look after myself, fucking Marimo," Sanji thought, turning his gaze to the quickly approaching ships.

Within minutes they were being boarded, and the Sunny erupted in a flurry of blood and combat: swords flying, legs kicking, men screaming, feet stomping, ammunition flaring. The fight went on for almost three hours, until Robin's handiwork with the naval ships and Usopp's assistance with the cannons successfully sank both ships, leaving the few surviving men to return to their little island with their asses in their hands on a couple of salvaged dinghies.

Unfortunately, this meant that they then had to sail away from the apparently dangerous waters of Hone-Onna, which was some distance away- really too far away to be attacked by her patrol ships. Franky used his remaining energy on a Coup de Boo to get them away from the island as quickly as they could. It took about a day or so off of their journey, so they wouldn't need to worry about any more marine ships at least.

They were soon in the liberating open water of the Grand Line, and heading towards their next adventure, but Sanji had decided to retire to his bedroom as he was feeling completely shattered after their fight. Luffy moaned a little at the cook's lack of kitchen-dwelling, as this meant that dinner probably wouldn't be done yet. Nami clocked him over the head and told him that it was only three thirty.

Sanji kicked his shoes off and panted as he stripped his torso of his dark blue tee, throwing it on the floor and crumpling the word 'GENTLECOOK' across the surface. He then hurriedly unbuckled his denim shorts and threw both them and his boxers on the floor of the men's quarters. Groaning painfully, he threw himself down into his hammock and lay breathing heavily for some time. He wasn't sure how long he laid there before the door creaked open; all he could think about was the hot pain surging around beneath his skin and throbbing in his head. His hand had been resting against his lower abdomen ever since the end of the fight, and he didn't become aware of his surroundings again until a familiar one covered his.

"Sanji," Zoro said, voice unusually kind, "can you hear me?"

He thought he nodded. Then again it might've been the blood vessels rupturing in his neck.

"Okay," Zoro whispered, probably nervous at seeing the normally cocky blond so weak like this. "I'm going to get Chopper."

Sanji didn't even protest. He didn't think he was really in a position to do so.

He vaguely felt Zoro pulling his boxers onto his hips, thankful that the moron at least had the decency to do that. He didn't remember anything else; he simply let the darkness claim him.

When he woke up, the sun was filtering in through a window to his right, and though the sudden sunlight was unwelcome to his tired eyes, it felt nice to be warmed by it. He sat up slowly, cringing at the movement - just how long had be been asleep? - and after a few delirious moments, he remembered everything that had happened. He had passed out..? His hand immediately travelled to his abdomen, and he was first glad to feel the smoothness of his skin and not a bandage, and also at the slight arc his hand had to make to cover it. He sighed and laid back down again, but turned his head on the pillow to look around the room. The infirmary.

Sanji lay there for several minutes, until he turned his head around to look at the door as it opened. To his surprise, Zoro walked in, hands in his pockets and a belligerent expression on his face, as though the very fact he was coming to visit the shitty cook annoyed him - he hadn't noticed that the blond had woken up yet. For some unknown reason, Sanji closed his eyes to pretend he was still asleep.

Zoro seemed to take an eternity to walk over to him, fiddling with things on the desk and dragging his feet. He finally sat down in Chopper's swivel chair, a couple of feet away, and face the far wall.

"Shitty cook, over-exerting yourself like that…" he mumbled, and Sanji had the distinct impression he'd probably said it quite a lot while he'd been out cold. Depending on how long he'd been out. But Zoro continued. "I'm not one for sentiments, but… hah…" Zoro made a familiar rough noise; the sound his hair made when Sanji ran his fingers through it.

"Just… don't fuck up like that again, okay? There's something else sharing your body, you can't just go and do selfish things like taking on thirty marines all by yourself."

"Well maybe if you'd given me a hand instead of dancing around with your swords pretending to be a swordsman, fuckface."

"What the f- how long have you been awake?" Zoro asked incredulously, and Sanji opened his eyes to see the confused, angry, relieved and somewhat red face of his lover.

"About an hour," Sanji replied, glaring at him from the pillow.

"You could've said something!" Zoro said, eyes wide.

"It was more interesting to keep my eyes closed," Sanji said with an evil smile.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "You're fucked up," he mumbled.

"And you're a moron. What time is it?"

"Four thirty," Zoro replied.

"Oh, well I still have time to make dinner, then," Sanji said, glancing out the window. "Everyone must be hungry from the fight."

Zoro blinked at him. "That was three days ago."

"What?" Sanji yelled, "what the hell happened?"

"You overexerted yourself, like I said. Chopper said the heat and then the fight did something to your system." Zoro snorted. "Just like I said, _~frail~_."

"And whose fault is that, shithead?" Sanji quipped, glaring.

"Whatever," Zoro replied, cleaning his ear out with his little finger and then wiping it on the bed sheet to Sanji's dismay, "just hurry up and get your bony ass out of bed, we're hungry.

"I missed you too," Sanji called after the other man, who simply ignored him and shut the door. When he had left, Sanji slumped back down on the mattress (careful to avoid Zoro's contribution) and sighed. Well, at least he cared enough to visit him.

A few minutes after Zoro had left, Chopper came in and gave him some pills that he explained would stop the panging in his head. Within an hour or so the pills had kicked into effect and Sanji felt well enough to return to the galley, where he began preparing dinner.

He was nearly finished with chopping the vegetables when Robin came in through the galley door holding a book. Sanji turned to face her with a bright smile (three long days without his Nami or his Robin had made him weaker, evidently) and he felt the energy return full-force.

"Hello, Robin-chwaaan~" he swooned, a bright pink heart where his eye should be as usual. "I missed you~~"

Robin chuckled and sat down at the table. "Good afternoon, Cook-san," she answered, "how are you feeling?"

"Ah, Robin-chan is so caring," Sanji said, turning to finish chopping the carrots, "I'm feeling much better now that I've seen you."

"I'm glad to hear that." Robin crossed her legs and smiled. "I have to say, you had us all rather worried when you suddenly went to sleep for so long," she explained.

"Ah, I'm so sorry to have worried you like that," Sanji said, putting the vegetables into a pan and placing it on the hob.

"You know, Sanji-san, we're all very worried for you. You haven't been well ever since we left Salrynn," the dark-haired woman replied, placing her chin on her hand. "I hope you haven't got a bug…"

"Ah, no, nothing of the sort," Sanji replied, and finally turned to face her. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"How far along are you?" She asked suddenly.

"Wh-what?" Sanji yelled, and then regained his composure. "I mean- what do you mean?" Was she psychic or something?

"You know what I mean, Cook-san." She answered seriously.

Sanji stared at her. "Excuse me a moment, Robin-chan," he said quietly, storming out of the galley to find Zoro. No way he was facing this conversation alone.

Zoro's meditative peace was interrupted rather rudely when he felt a heavy foot connect with the side of his head. "Shithead, come with me," Sanji said, in a voice that Zoro, in his tranquil state, did not even try to argue with.

When they entered the galley Sanji was all sunshine and happiness and apologizing for the interruption. "Zoro, please explain to Robin what's been happening for the last few weeks. She knows."

Zoro blinked a few times in surprise but decided it was easier to just talk about it. Everyone would know soon anyway. "Well, you know me and Sanji have been fucking for nearly a year? Well, recently I knocked him up."

The silence that followed was deadly, only punctuated by a brief giggle from Robin.

"What?" Sanji said deeply, brow furrowed with rage. Zoro was officially no longer allowed to explain things. Ever. In fact, Sanji would make sure he wouldn't speak for at least a month after this.

"Cook-san," Robin said finally, "please don't be too angry. I knew before Doctor-san did, I read about it in this book," she finished, and stood to hand it to the blond.

Sanji looked at the cover for a minute and read over the words '_SALRYNN: Goddess of the Legendary Land'. _

"Read it," Robin said, "I think it will explain a lot of things to you both." Then she turned to leave. Before she shut the door, she turned and said: "I won't say anything."

Zoro left soon after her to continue meditating, and Sanji hid the book beneath the spice rack to read after dinner.

That last part is very mashed up and the whole thing is extremely disjointed (as well as a few mistakes I may have made), but I updated! Yay!


	7. Chapter 7

Dinner seemed to pass by in a blur. Sanji was still shocked (and very, very horrified) that Robin had known before anyone else, and he was trying to get used to the fact that it wasn't just him, Zoro and Chopper who were in on this. It was almost as if having the woman involved made it suddenly more real; Sanji had always associated better with women than he did with men, but this was a strange way for it to take shape. But it seemed to hit him, harder than ever, that this really was happening to him.

Nevertheless, once the crew had filtered out of the galley, he withdrew the book from its hiding place and sat down at the galley table. He opened it up at the contents and scanned it until he found a chapter titled: 'Fertility Rituals'. He rested his jaw on his right hand as his blue eyes roved over the characters attentively.

'_Fertility rituals - or 'Coty' as they are called on the island - are understandably central to this small community's way of life. After all, it is a fertility goddess who presides over the land. _

_Something that makes the island unique among its sister islands is that the ancient rite does not discriminate over same sex or opposite sex couples. This is perhaps why the island does not enjoy much tourist interest, despite its natural beauty and superiority over the other islands of the Glordonia chain. However, this is not a book on sociology; it is a book of history. _

_The legend of Salrynn is an interesting one. The deity is regarded as a goddess, but in fact She has two counterparts - though both female. The story goes that Sal and Rynn were lovers in a time that homosexuality was condemned on the island, but the women created a coven of sorts, originally to escape the judgement of the islanders. The name of the coven and its members was 'Coty'. Over time, they had several members of the community - all same sex couples, male and female, who began worshipping the double goddess that was Salrynn. Eventually, word began to circulate around the land that such a place existed, though who allowed the secret to escape their lips has long been a mystery._

_In any case, the rumour had been going around the island for sometime and by the time it reached the chief, it had been misspoken and perpetuated falsely, and the chief was told that there were a group of rebels who were planning to overthrow him. Terrified of a revolt, the chief sent his best troops to the alleged site of the coven and ordered them to kill at will. _

_However, upon their arrival, the Coty had just finished performing the Ascension ritual - the merging of the two High Priestesses and their arrival in the Land of the Gods as a double goddess. The troops were spared but the Chief was ordered to withdraw them. The chief and his followers were banished to Marné, a small, then uninhabited island at the very south of Glordonia as punishment for their judgemental ways. _

_Salrynn has since been regarded as the merciful Goddess, and a Shrine was built in her honour at the site of her Ascension. _

_The text on the Shrine - here written in the ancient language thought to be spoken by Salrynn and Her worshippers thousands of years ago denotes - __"__those who have expressed their love for each other in this Bed of Fertility will soon be blessed with child.__"__ To this day, many of Salrynn__'__s worshippers - namely the islanders - have mated in this bed, praying for a child and leaving letters of thanks and gifts to Her at the Shrine of Salrynn. All have found their prayers answered.'. _

Sanji sighed as he finished reading the text. He supposed that this made he and Zoro 'Coty' then. He understood the situation a little better now; it was better than feeling like he was stuck in the dark about the whole situation.

But he had to admit, he was still a bit bummed out about Robin knowing. Having someone with such a powerful presence in on this was like having everyone in on it. Sanji reasoned that he at least had another month or so to decide on what was going to happen with regards to telling the crew, and with Robin's help they were bound to come up with a good plan.

The next two months seemed to pass very slowly. All they felt they had done for the last eight and a half weeks was island hopping, seemingly for the sole purpose of restocking. This made their captain - and the whole crew, in fact - agitated at being inactive for long. They hadn't even been attacked by marines or anything! So most of the crew had been reduced to sparring with each other every once in a while or, in Zoro's case, doubling the mass of his weights.

Sanji, however, was feeling somewhat worse than his crewmates, partially because of the hormones, but also because of the fact that he had been forced to take it easy. He was becoming slightly alarmed at how quickly the tiny little curve had grown into a mound his hand could only just cover, but he tried to ignore it as Chopper felt it was normal. His clothes were able to disguise it well, though he had had to go through his entire wardrobe to see what clothes covered the bump and which ones did not, and unfortunately, many of his tight-fitting dress shirts creased and stretched somewhat over it, which made the bump look even more pronounced. So he'd been forced into wearing loose-fitting tees and baggy sweaters - but it wasn't really enough.

Being the smartly dressed gentleman he was, he didn't own many informal pieces of clothing; he felt that they made him look cheap and unkempt. He owned so few baggy clothes that he'd even turned to stealing some of Zoro's, even though they were too big for him. But he had to admit, they were a lot cooler and comfortable than his usual suit and tie. But bump covering shirts and sweaters were still not enough. Sanji was becoming increasingly worried about the clothing situation as his jeans and trademark slacks were no longer fastening at the top, and it wouldn't be long before he needed new clothes altogether.

Zoro, on the other hand, grinned like an idiot every time the bump was revealed, which was mostly when they were alone in the bunkrooms, getting changed or even having sex in the galley. Indeed, both men were both very pleased that their sex life was still in tact, especially Sanji, as he didn't think he would be able to give up smoking, fighting Iand/I sex for nine months. At least he had one of his vices left for comfort. He tried not to let his mind slip into resentment that Zoro, even though they had both done equal amounts to conceive the bloody thing, was still able to do all of these things. And he didn't even smoke! Sanji grumbled irritably every time he thought about it.

But nonetheless, Zoro was quite happily coming to terms with the fact that there was a baby on the way. Truth be told, he'd never really thought about being a dad, so it did really hit him between the eyes when it happened. Though he was pleased, and that was another thing that made this process more bearable.

They were coming into port at one of a medium-sized cluster of islands named the Seven Stars Archipelago. Each of the islands seemed to serve a different purpose; Islands A through C were residential areas, D through E were filled with entertainment hotspots, and Island G was an area which filled all of the necessary amenities needed within a community; schools, hospitals and a small, mostly powerless police station. It also had a large commercial district, where there were open markets and long, bustling high streets filled with all kinds of stores.

Island F was uninhabited; Nami explained that it was because of the large, inactive volcano that took up most of the space. F was set further to the south than the other islands, and the only way across was by boat, unlike the other islands which had been connected by a series of elaborate bridges. The peculiarity of the archipelago and its architecture meant that it attracted tourists from all over, and it presented to a crew which were, to say the least, sick to the back teeth of tiny islands and their little markets, a whole new adventure.

"The islands are simply named after letters because the founders didn't want them to create their own individuality," Nami had explained as they approached the mostly full harbour. "It was probably for the best. They wanted the archipelago to stay as a group of islands which altogether created the Seven Stars, as it created a sense of unity amongst the population and by doing so, they basically decimated the possibility of conflict and war amongst the islanders. What's more, the marines can't touch it because its protected by some pirate called Hengest - he's got a huge fleet and more than enough allies to guarantee all out war if they tried anything. That means there's no taxes and everything is dirt cheap! It's like a pirate haven!" From the way she was talking, it was like Nami had just found Nirvana.

Luffy, Brook, Usopp, Frankie and Chopper were nearly pissing themselves by this point, as it was quite dark by the time they had arrived and the lights had obviously excited them. They pulled into the dock peacefully and decided that they would eat out for a change -Sanji had suggested it; he needed a break from the heat of the kitchen, even if it was his job. The dock itself was on Island G, so they had to ask for directions as to where the bridge to the entertainment district was. They discovered that it was on the other side of the island, so they set off on foot. After approximately seven minutes of walking, Luffy began to complain that he was hungry.

"We'll get something to eat as soon as we get over the bridge, okay? And we haven't even been walking for that long, so stop complaining!" Nami replied disapprovingly.

"But I'm huuunngrryyyyyy~" The captain whined, his face morphing into a series of tortured expressions.

Nami sighed, but then perked up at the sight of the bridge. There were countless chariots with horses, as well as many people on horseback and foot travelling on and off the bridge in a rather chaotic bustle. "We're here!" She exclaimed, and ran up to what seemed to be a kind of ski lift. In fact, as Sanji looked up to above the lively bridge, a whole system of carriages suspended from long wires operated from above them. On the side of the bridge was an area were they lowered themselves towards the ground, so that foot-passengers could board one of the bench carriages as they glided silently towards them.

Luffy, Chopper, Brook, Usopp and Franky marvelled at it and all but begged Nami to give them the money to install one on the ship.

"No, you idiots, why the hell would we need one of these? It's a ship, not a fair ground," Sanji said, "stop bothering Nami-swan and get on the lift. Ah- after Nami-swan and Robin-chan of course," he finished.

Nami and Robin sat down on the lift as it came towards them with a pair of the cutest laughs Sanji had ever heard. His eyes popped into hearts at the sound, and Zoro rolled his eyes.

Brook and Luffy boarded the next one with Chopper parked between them, then Franky and Usopp, and finally Sanji and Zoro. Sanji marvelled at the sight the lift provided; in the distance there was the island they were travelling to, which was alight with lamps from the buildings, as well as bright neon signs and coloured spotlights that roved around the dark night sky. From a distance it almost looked like a painting, as the lights bounced off the dark, velvety sea and created a delirious assortment of colour on the horizon.

His blue eyes were busy following them when Zoro spoke up. "You kind of look like Luffy right now," he commented, watching Sanji's face.

"Oh, thanks," he said.

"Not as in stuffing your face with whatever's in front of you, even if it's your ankle," Zoro replied, "I mean… you've got that look on your face that you're really happy."

Sanji was quiet for moment. "Oh. Thanks, I think…" He said finally.

Zoro gave a sheepish smile, and looked down at the bar across them. Sanji silently took his hand in his and placed it over the bump in his abdomen when he was sure nobody could see. They were so far ahead of them they were just distant yells of excitement, so the blond positioned Zoro's hand and then laid his own across it, not making eye contact with his lover.

Zoro was quiet, but slightly in awe at how quickly the bump had grown. He didn't really touch it during sex, because he didn't know what Sanji would make of it, but his abdomen was distinctly bigger than it had been before. Instead of muscles there was a soft curve, and strange as it was to say it, it felt alive.

"It feels… big," Zoro commented, feeling a bit stupid.

"Well duh," Sanji replied, looking up at his lover with a smile. It was one of those rare moments of peace they shared, where they didn't bicker or fight, but just spoke.

They sat close together like that until they began to approach the end of the lift, when Zoro pulled his hand away from rubbing the gentle bump and sat back from Sanji. They hopped off of it with ease, and walked to rejoin the others.

"Uwaah! That was so cool!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Yeah, we should have one on the ship!" Luffy added, grinning like a fool.

"We just went over that," Nami said, rubbing her temple.

The crew made their way across the next island loudly, in awe of the strange new land they had discovered. Along the shore of the island there were countless arcades, casinos, fast food joints and clubs, each with huge neon signs that towered above them, some of them even moving. From the sky it must've looked like a huge ring about the tiny dot of an island, but further inland there were more entertainment establishments, which seemed to climb above the ones seen from the shore along a gently sloping hill.

Eventually the crew managed to find their way through the winding streets, until they came to a fairly quieter spot which had some stylish bars and restaurants lining the streets: the ground was cobbled and there was plenty of greenery, but it was not without the bright illuminations the rest of the island sported. There were lanterns and lit signs, but they were softly illuminated and reflected well off the buildings surrounding them.

It was fairly busy that evening, but not unbearably so. They found a larger restaurant that served plenty of meat but fitted the affluence of the neighbourhood, and also seemed to be able to accommodate the large group. Once there, they sat down at a round table and Luffy promptly proclaimed that he wanted everything on the menu.

"Give me all the meat you have!" He shouted at the terrified waiter, who nodded and ran off to place the order.

Nami rubbed her forehead. "You'd better hope there's some treasure around here or I'm going to charge you interest for all that food." She answered, obviously more than a little frustrated at not seeing anything sparkly for a while.

Luffy ignored her; the fact that he was going to be fed seemed to make him immune to any kind of threat. Sanji could feel his own gut rumble, despite the fact that he'd eaten not that long ago back on the ship.

After about fifteen minutes, the food began to arrive on their table, and continued to do so for the next couple of hours. They ate heartily, much to the horror of their fellow diners, who stared in awe at the table of weird and rowdy pirates.

Zoro was drunk, Luffy, Chopper, Brook, Franky and Usopp were stuffing their faces like total pigs, though Sanji was also eating rather a lot (though a lot more like an actual human, unlike his companions) and Nami and Robin were slightly slumped in their chairs, full, and far too used to the sight of the bottomless chasms beside them.

Once all the food was gone, they sat at the table for about an hour before they could actually move. No one spoke much, apart from the odd belch, until it went down. Luffy was ballooned to about double his normal size, and even Sanji was quite proud of himself for eating as much as he had. Zoro was thoroughly pissed and looking around hazily.

"So, where to now?" Usopp asked, eyes half lidded.

"I want to go to the arcade!" Chopper said, perking up a bit.

"I want to go to the casino," Nami added, a dangerous glint in her eye.

"I want to go to another restaurant," Luffy declared, his cheeks full. Nami kicked him in the head.

"No. That's enough money spent on food for one night," she added.

"Yeah, we need to buy some food for the next part of the voyage," Sanji added, rubbing his belly inconspicuously beneath the table. Zoro caught it and grinned drunkenly. "Who knows how long it'll be before we find the next island…"

"Yeah, and if Sanji's gonna keep eatin' like he's pregnant then we're gonna need more food than what we already have," Zoro slurred, grinning like an idiot.

Sanji shot him a deadly glare and Robin and Chopper exchanged a worried look.

"Well, I think we'd better take this moron back to the ship," Sanji said with a false grin, now very worried about what the swordsman might say in front of the crew in his state.

"What? No, I'm not gonna pass out or anything, stupid cook," he slurred, "maybe being pregnant does that to people… ne, Chopper? Don't women and stuff get all crazy when they're preggo-" Sanji kicked him and dragged him out of the restaurant in a headlock, much to the swordsman's garbled chagrin, leaving the rest of the crew in a confused state.

"Ah, Cook-san was meant to make Zoro that healing remedy that Chopper said he should drink," Robin lied, smiling widely.

"Yeah, from that injury in his torso he sustained from his fight with the giant on the last island," Chopper added, nervous.

"Eh? Fight? Zoro had a fight with a giant and he didn't tell anyone about it?" Luffy complained loudly, eyes wide.

"Yes, Sogeking was there too, wasn't he? He was so brave!" Robin said with mock admiration.

Usopp gave her a strange look, and then he gave a shit-eating grin. "Well, of course he was! He is, after all, king of the snipers!" He exclaimed, and leant forward to begin telling some vastly exaggerated and made up story about how Sogeking had saved Zoro's life just in time. Most of the crew listened intently, but Nami was greatly confused. She knitted her brow and asked a passing waitress for the bill, deciding that she was going to get to the bottom of the weird behaviour she'd been witnessing from her friends.

Meanwhile, Sanji was dragging a loud, swearing, complaining, drunken Marimo back to the ship. This included wading through the busy entertainment district, somehow surviving the lift across the bridge, and then navigating their way back to the dock. Once they finally arrived, Sanji threw him into a chair at the dining table and poured a glass of water, before slamming it down before the other man dangerously.

"Drink." He said darkly.

"I don't-"

"Fucking drink." Sanji spat. Zoro didn't think he should argue, so he downed it in a few seconds and then wiped his mouth.

Sanji watched him from his position leant against the island counter, with his arms crossed and a heavy glare on his face. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He snapped as soon as Zoro stopped drinking.

Zoro blinked. "What did I do now?" He asked stupidly.

"You fucking moron! You nearly told everyone about the pregnancy thing!" Sanji fumed, letting out his anger now they were in a safe place.

"No I didn't," Zoro argued, "I just made a couple of metaphors," he slurred, but slowly found himself beginning to sober up.

"What, three metaphors about the same fucking thing? Anyone with two brain cells to rub together could see through that," Sanji retorted.

"Then its lucky half of them don't half two brain cells to rub together," Zoro replied.

"Well, at least we know which half you belong to!" Sanji shouted, and made for the door in anger. But as soon as he looked up from glaring at the other man, he was stopped dead in his tracks.

Standing in front of a closed door was the redheaded money demon herself. She kept her brown eyes trained on Sanji in such a way that he felt himself walk backwards and sit in a chair beside Zoro, who turned to look where his lover was looking. His eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he instantly knew that Sanji was going to murder him before he even had a chance to see his child.

Nami sat down at the table after a couple of minutes of staring and sputtering from both men, and looked at them both with question. "So, what was this little spat all about?" Nami asked, looking from one of them to the other.

"When did it involve you?" Zoro shot back pugnaciously. Sanji kneed the back of the chair he was sat on irritably.

"Nami-san, please ignore this idiotic Marimo beside me. I can explain everything, if you would be kind enough to give me the chance?" Sanji said.

"Go ahead," Nami replied with a smile.

Sanji thanked her and then sat down beside his lover, who looked like he really needed to go to bed. He then proceeded to tell her everything that had transpired in the last few months, including the excruciating torture of telling her about the arrangement, as it were, that he and Zoro had had for over a year now. He felt so awful about breaking her heart, and took her hand to apologize- but they could still be together! He would happily raise the child with-

He was interrupted in his thoughts by a loud, raucous cackle that only belonged to his dear Nami-swan. He blinked incredulously. "I _knew_ you were fucking, I _knew_ it! Hah! Nojiko is going to be so pissed when she sends me that ten thousand Beli in the mail!" She said excitedly, giggling.

Sanji blinked at her incredulously. Nami-san… his Nami-san, had known all along? And had had a bet with her sister over it? It was too much to take in.

Zoro, on the other hand, found the whole thing rather amusing, even if he too, was disturbed that she was making bets over such a thing.

Sanji sat in deep embarrassment, and scratched his head in confusion. Eventually, Nami's laughter died down, and she became serious once more. "But anyway, Sanji-kun, I think that this is all amazing. I knew the Grand Line was a weird place, but…" she trailed off and raised her eyebrows.

"I thought the exact same thing, Nami-san," Sanji said, looking at the table.

"We need to start thinking about preparations for the new arrival," she said a bit suddenly, in a business-like tone, "we'll made a checklist, and I'll help you in any way I can."

"Holy shit, are you suggesting what I think you are?" Zoro replied incredulously, perking up after a while of being quiet.

Nami held up a finger and closed her eyes, as if she was trying to mask some kind of agonizing pain. "I am willing to help those close to me when they are in need." Her eye twitched a bit. "Even if it means… spending a high than usual amount of money," she forced out finally, immediately letting out a long breath.

"Ah, thank you, Nami-swan," Sanji swooned, albeit tiredly.

"But right now, I'm rather tired and I think I need a bit of time to process it all. We'll talk about it in the morning." And with that, the redhead stood from the table and began to walk towards the door.

"Oh, Nami-san? I'd be eternally grateful if you didn't tell anyone about this," Sanji called before she left.

Nami's eyes held a subtle hint of devilishness as she turned to smile and agree, and bade them both a goodnight before returning to her cabin.

Zoro looked at Sanji a bit guiltily. "Sorry," he said, "but I think it was kind of for the best… you've only got about two weeks before that bump becomes too noticeable, and we don't want her getting too many blackmail ideas."

Sanji sighed, knowing that the swordsman was right. It just made him hate him even more, however. "I'm tired," he said with a yawn, not even bothering to answer Zoro's statements. The swordsman nodded, however, and the two made their way back to the men's quarters where they slept peacefully for a few hours, until Sanji woke at the tell-tale noise of his crewmate's drunkenness and clambered out of Zoro's hammock tiredly, falling into his own just in time for the door to swing open.

There was another scene (or a few scenes) I was thinking of adding to this one, but its really like a whole other chapter- the length is a bit unanticipated. But I hope you like this one :D

Comments and the like are much appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

Comment: Once again, sorry about the late update (even though I actually finished this last night and then my internet clocked off _). I started this over a year ago and I've only belted out eight chapters , I wrote basically most of this in about three days and then got hopelessly stuck with the last couple of scenes DX

The next morning, Sanji was happily tossing pancakes in the frying pan before the others were up. Or so he thought. He heard the door swing open and he stopped his humming and flipping to glance at who was first up. He kind of hoped it was Robin, as it was most mornings. No such luck. Half slumped in the doorway was a very hung over Zoro, who looked like a dead thing with dark rings beneath his eyes and knackered-looking limbs.

"Oi cook, do you have that spare key to my locker? I lost mine and I really need those hang over meds Chopper made me…" he whined, frowning. God, he didn't even remember when he last felt so bad just because he had a few too many the night before.

Sanji rolled his eyes and reached over to a small key rack on the side of a cabinet to unhook a small set of keys, and found the spare one he'd had cut of Zoro's locker- the idiot was always losing the damn thing…

"Here," he said, handing them to him. He then poured his lover a glass of water to take the pills with.

"Thank you," Zoro said, and lurched back to the bunk room.

Sanji mentally stamped on the feeling of domesticity he got from the exchange, and then carried on with breakfast.

About an hour later, Robin joined him in the kitchen after having showered and dressed, and Sanji made her a cup of coffee after his usual swooning.

"What happened with Navigator-san last night, Cook-san?" She asked, obviously having worked out where Nami had disappeared off to the previous night.

Sanji blinked at her. "Do you know everything, Robin-chan?" He asked, a bit incredulously.

"I know a lot of things," she answered enigmatically.

Sanji smiled and took some pepper out of the cupboard. "Well, she knows," he replied, "she walked into the galley when I was arguing with Zoro about the way he acted at the restaurant."

"Oh," she said, "what did she say?" She didn't imagine the redhead would have taken the news badly.

Sanji suppressed the helpless feeling as he remembered her reaction. "She said she couldn't wait to rub Nojiko-san's nose in her defeat when she told her about winning their bet," he replied, comical fears running down his face.

"Ah, I wondered if she would remember-" Robin stopped herself. Of course Nami remembered everything when it came to her financial dealings. "Well, at least now we have another brain to help us with this situation," she finished.

"I suppose," Sanji said, "thank you for all your help, Robin-chan," he added sincerely, and placed her breakfast in front of her. Robin nodded at him with a smile, thanking him, and then the blond left to wake the rest of the crew.

First he woke Nami, with polite and gentle knocks on the door, and then the others with loud, quick knocks. "Get up if you want to eat breakfast, you lazy shits!" He bellowed, and walked back to the galley to eat his own.

Luffy was first to the kitchen, nearly knocking over the redheaded navigator in his unyielding search for food. They ate breakfast as usual, though Zoro ate slightly more slowly than his crewmates thanks to his hangover. Eventually, they all left the galley to prepare for a day of adventures, but to Sanji's surprise, Nami stayed, along with Robin, Chopper and Zoro.

"You know, Sanji, Zoro," she began, placing the coffee cup on the table, "I have a secret."

The others perked up at this. "Secret?" Zoro asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. For some time, I've been stashing some riches away- not much, but every time we hit the jackpot I always managed to store a small amount away, and I'm sure that by now it must be a small fortune."

"_You_ put money away?" Zoro said disbelievingly. Sanji glared at him.

Nami narrowed her eyes and looked affronted. "Yes, actually, even I can save. I have to keep hold of some money, for times like when Merry passed away." She flicked her eyes to the tabletop briefly, then continued. "It's not a huge amount like it was before, because it hasn't been so long since we left Water 7, but there's more than enough to buy all the essentials, and then we'd still have a considerable amount of money for an emergency. Though if you ask me, I'd say this was kind of an emergency too." She explained.

Sanji swooned. "Oh, Nami-swan~ are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" He wailed, his eyes popping into hearts.

"Well, I am a woman, you know, I do have these kind of qualities-"

Zoro snorted.

"Oi, Zoro, do you have a problem with what Nami-san is offering?" Sanji said darkly.

"In a way," he explained, "I'm the father, I should be providing for my kid."

Sanji rolled his eyes. Typical idiotic swordsman honour. "Well do you have the money we need?" He asked, folding his arms, "this isn't something that's going to be cheap. We need baby clothes, bottles, a sterilizer, a cot, baby food, a high chair, toys, nappies*, carriers… that's far too expensive for someone who struggles to pay for his sword repair bills, let alone a child!"

"Since when did you know so much about babies, love-cook?"

"Alright, I think that's enough you two," Nami yelled, close to banging their heads together.

"Sorry, Nami-san," Sanji said. Zoro grunted and looked away.

"Right. I'm going to change, and you're going to draw up a list of everything we need. Chopper, I think you should write a list of any medical supplies you'll be needing." She said robustly.

"Okay," Chopper replied, and Nami turned to leave.

They left shortly after Luffy, Brook and Usopp set out to do some exploring; Franky stayed on the ship to keep an eye on things. They walked the short distance to the nearby market place, first renting a cart to pick up the necessary groceries (which wasn't much), and then taking it back to the ship so nothing defrosted or went bad in the heat. They then made their way to what seemed to be a large shopping centre; there was a large glass dome they could see on the horizon and a large maroon sign that read 'Jessamine Arcade' positioned on a ledge beneath it.

"Right, first I think we should get the medical stuff." Sanji said, eyeing Zoro who seemed very disinterested in their current activity.

"Okay," Chopper said, and trotted over to a map, now in his all-fours reindeer form. He read it intently, and then mentioned for the others to follow.

There was a wing of the mall which was full of health stores and chemists', and Chopper walked into one that specialised in herbs first off. They looked around others, buying medicines and equipment, until they came across a rather unusual contraption.

It was a small, pocket sized screen that had a thick wire trailing out of the bottom of it. At the end of it was a kind of wand with a rubbery pad, and there were several buttons below the screen and on the wand itself.

"What's that, a sex toy?" Zoro asked bluntly.

"Why would they sell a sex toy in a health store, idiot?" Sanji replied.

They bickered for a couple of moments until Chopper pushed his head between them to have a look for himself. He gasped and then grinned excitedly.

"I heard about these!" He exclaimed excitedly, grinning widely.

"What is it?" Robin asked, intrigued.

"It's an ultrasound machine," Chopper replied, "it uses ultrasound waves to penetrate through solid objects, and then it creates an image of what's inside. Kind of like those X-Ray things I was telling you about, but they're not as dangerous. They started using these in maternity hospitals a few years ago, and they're really useful!" He raved.

"Wow," Sanji said, impressed.

"So how much is it?" Nami asked, looking for a price tag.

She frowned when she saw it. It was fairly expensive, probably more than she was willing to pay for it. Where was that shopkeeper? If there was one thing she was good/scary at, it was haggling.

"I could use it for all sorts of things. I could use it if anyone of us sustained an internal injury in a battle, and as for the baby, you could see an image of the foetus, what sex it is, if there's more than one, if there's something wrong…" Chopper trailed off, rambling on in his excitement.

Nami eventually found the shopkeeper of the large store, and promptly began haggling with him. She got it down to a reasonable price, and they purchased it, Chopper immensely grateful that he'd been gifted such a rare item.

"Arigatou, Nami-chan!" He thanked. Sanji did the same, but with a lot more swooning.

"Yeah well, it's a good investment if it really can do all those things," she answered.

They left the store with a last 'thank you' to the clerk, who gave them a defeated look and nod. They visited a few more medical stores and then checked the map for the children's department, and found a store that sold clothes designed for young children and babies. It was a brightly coloured space with several women and families browsing through the shelves and clothing racks, and Sanji set about finding what they needed. Nami had given them some money and then she, Robin and Chopper had decided that they were going to look in the weird global import store around the corner, which left him and Zoro alone.

Sanji stumbled across a large island counter with folded goods arranged around it, and he picked up numerous babygros, making sure that they were unisex, a couple of tiny coats, some socks, a few pairs of tiny jeans and shorts, shirts, as well the other necessities like hats and gloves for colder weather, night clothes, and everything they had listed.

"Can you carry all that?" Sanji asked as he went through a pile of bedding.

"Just about," Zoro replied, ignoring the judgemental looks of the women in the store. He knew exactly what they were gasping about.

"Okay, well here's some more bed linen, and that should be it for clothes and whatever." Sanji said, but gave him a concerned look when he saw the darkness in the swordsman's expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, let's just pay and get everything else we need," Zoro replied, walking toward the cashier.

Sanji frowned but followed him anyway, and they left the shop with several bags in each hand to meet the others just outside the building. Robin appeared to have noticed that something wasn't quite right between him and Zoro, but she didn't say anything.

The next stop was to a cosmetics and basic grooming store that had a large section devoted to infantile needs. They picked up everything they needed, such as bottles, sterilizers and a large supply of nappies*. As they left the store they noticed a bright, colourful section of the centre that seemed to attract a lot of attention from children, so they decided to have a look.

"Sugei!" Chopper exclaimed as they entered the huge toy store. It was quite busy and there were a number of kids running around the place happily, with their parents either following them or screaming at them for being horrible little shits. The walls were deep navy and were patterned with stars, and music echoed around the place loudly. There were countless stalls and shelves arranged around huge pillars and along the walls, with soft toys, dress-up costumes, toy cars, dolls, action figures, building toys, arts and crafts, outdoor things- it was like a kid's paradise, so Sanji decided that they wouldn't stay there too long.

Zoro, on the other hand, was slightly terrified of what he had gotten himself into. With the amount of kids pulling things off the shelves, screaming because they couldn't get what they wanted, kicking, flailing and generally being hell raisers, he felt a kind of dread he only felt when he was in real shit. He gave a nauseated expression as he watched them.

They looked around the store in a group until Zoro decided he was going to have a look around himself.

"Oi, Zoro? Where are you going?" Sanji called after him, as he, the girls and Chopper were watching a demonstration for a new gadget. He cursed under his breath and mentioned that he was following Zoro.

The swordsman found a fairly quiet part of the store that seemed to have a lot of stuffed animals and eyed them disinterestedly. It wasn't like he had any money to actually support his children, he thought with a sneer.

Unfortunately Sanji caught it as he approached him from the side, and he frowned at the man, though it lacked the usual venom. "What's that look for?" He asked quietly, trying not to attract any attention.

"What look?" Zoro asked, picking up a light brown cat toy with soft fur and a pink satin nose and ears.

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that crap. You've been moping around all day with that look on your face," he said.

"Look, I'm just a bit annoyed that I'm not doing anything for that kid," he explained without looking at the cook.

Sanji didn't answer, but he looked around at the little section of the store which he imagined must be for very young children. Finally, he spoke up. "It's not about money. Some fathers might support their kids financially but they don't do anything fatherly at all. And Nami might be the one who keeps hold of it, but you had equal part in earning that money- we're pirates, remember? Besides, there's nothing wrong with accepting help from the crew. They're family too, aren't they?" He said, and reached for the cat that Zoro had picked up. "Half and half?"

Zoro folded his arms and nodded.

After they had left the store, Nami had decided that Sanji needed new clothes. It was true, but it didn't mean he was looking forward to it any more than Zoro probably was - though he'd probably be pleased that Sanji wasn't going to keep stealing his clothes anymore.

Robin and Chopper had decided to leave them a little early to do some of their own shopping before the centre closed for the day, leaving Nami, Zoro and Sanji alone. Nami seemed to be re-energized once she knew they'd be going clothes shopping and was leading them, apparently instinctively, to the fashion floor.

"Okay, Sanji-kun, I don't think you're going to find maternity menswear, so you'll probably have to make do with plus size things." Nami said, and continued to ramble on before them.

Sanji nodded along, not really listening but swooning anyway. His Nami-san was amazing when she was doing- well anything, really. Zoro ignored them both and eyed the passing stores with disinterest, until he spotted a menswear shop that seemed to specialize in fugly prints- something the cook appeared to be rather fond of.

"Oi, cook, what about that one?" He said, pointing at the brightly coloured sign.

Sanji blinked and looked over to where the swordsman had indicated, and then he shrugged and began walking over to it. "Can't hurt to look," he said.

They had a look around a few other menswear shops until Nami apparently cracked and decided she was going to go on a shopping spree of her own. Sanji waved goodbye to her with lots of swooning, and then turned to Zoro with a slight scowl.

"Let's go back to the ship," he said, carrying a couple of bags full of his new clothes.

Zoro grunted and followed.

The two men struggled to hide the numerous bags they had been carrying behind their backs as they made their way to the men's bunk room, as Usopp, Brook and Luffy had returned for dinner and were irritated that it was not there waiting for them upon their return. As well as this, they were also increasingly curious as to why Sanji and Zoro were carrying so many bags.

"It's medical stuff!" Sanji said, hiding the bags behind his back, "Chopper asked us to bring it back because he doesn't know how much more stuff he- ah, needs for the rest of the journey!"

"You can't lie to us, Sanji, especially not me!" Usopp replied, even though Luffy appeared to have bought it and now had half of his index finger lodged up his nose.

"So can we see it?" Brook asked.

"Yeah, if its just medical stuff, we can look at it right?" Franky chimed in, hammering away at the mast to fix a tiny little dent from a minor storm that had occurred the previous week.

Sanji glared. "No." He said, and, grabbing Zoro with a hooked arm, bolted for the men's quarters, where he promptly locked the door behind them.

"Good save," Zoro snorted, ignoring the banging on the door, dumping the bags on the floor and stretching his arms over his head, groaning as his back made little crunching noises.

Sanji scowled in disgust. "Do you know how much it grosses me out when you do that?" He said, placing his bags in the corner where Zoro had dumped his.

"Yeah, and I don't give a crap," the swordsman replied, shooting a haughty grin towards his lover and then flopping down on his nearby bunk.

Sanji eyed him slowly with his one visible eye; the blue iris trailing up the swordsman's crossed legs, broad chest and muscled arms folded behind his head, and slowly toward the tanned face that was giving him a suspicious look. "Don't even think about it," Zoro said quietly, as if he didn't quite agree with his own words.

But Sanji didn't listen to him, as always. His strange hormones had once again decided to do a complete one-eighty on him and within a few moments, he was straddling his lover's hips and leaning down to kiss him, completely uncaring of the others right outside the door.

Zoro kissed him back and ran his hands up the loose-fitting fabric of the blond's navy vest sweater, stroking the clothed flesh beneath with some annoyance at the blue and white checked under-shirt. The layers allowed for the cook's small bump to look like crumpled fabric, but it made him a little hot on this kind of island.

Sanji sighed and laid down on his lover's chest fully, feeling somewhat content and tired after their long shopping trip. He loosened the white tie and undid a couple of buttons to reveal a small amount of pale flesh beneath, and that took up all of Zoro's attention.

"Hn," he said, and buried his face in the cook's neck, breathing in his scent. "You smell nice," he muttered. Sanji's flesh smelt like the sea and slightly of smoke, though not as much as it used to. Though he worried about the health of his kid, he couldn't help but miss it a bit.

Sanji smiled a little and licked along the shell of Zoro's ear teasingly. "You taste good," he said with a grin.

Zoro shivered. "Damn it, cook," he said, "we can't do that right now…"

Sanji nuzzled his neck gently. "Why not? Not even a quick one..?" He said hopefully.

"No," the swordsman replied, but Sanji was already kissing his neck and moving to pull the thin sweater over his head.

Zoro eyed the cook's body slowly with his green eyes and smirked as he leant up, the dark material ruffling his blond locks and pulling the curtain of hair up slightly, momentarily revealing another blue eye, darkened slightly with arousal. Sanji threw the garment off to the side after some minor fumbling and smiled softly as he leant back down, kissing the swordsman once again and running a hand up the dark green t-shirt he had worn today with the haramaki, dark cargo pants tucked into his usual boots. His hand caressed the smooth, muscled skin he found there as Zoro rested on hand on his lower back and his right threaded through his soft hair slowly, his lips gently pressing small pecks to his mouth.

Sanji felt the calm around them expand like a bubble. It wasn't often he and Zoro had moments like this; intimacies between them were usually shared with rough, hard caresses and muttered insults. But for whatever reason, Sanji just didn't feel like it this time, and apparently, neither did Zoro.

He sighed and tilted his head so Zoro could work his mouth down the pale skin of his neck, his full, lightly chapped lips caressing him gently and letting out small puffs of air and making the cook shiver. His fingers gently unbuttoned his shirt slowly, ignoring his own words about it not being the best time. The swordsman moved his mouth to kiss the lightly panting cook's lips once more while his hands spread themselves over Sanji's chest, making the other man shiver lightly and arch his back.

Sanji purred and straightened his back, leaning upright to straddle the other man's waist. He smiled as he wordlessly covered his long, pale hands with Zoro's tanned, calloused ones, flicking his blue eyes down toward them and grinning. He and Zoro had such differing complexions and he wondered, at the back of his mind, what colour the baby's skin would be. With this thought he slowly pushed his lovers hands down so they covered the growing bump, and Zoro stroked it gently with a small smile tugging at his lips.

The bubble of calm around them suddenly popped dramatically as Luffy's shrill voice began his ominous, trademark sentence: "Gomu Gomu nooooo…"

Oh God, this was a bitch to finish. I personally hate the ending; that's got to be the worst cliff-hanger I've ever written . I did actually write a little more but it seemed too lingering.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to tell me what you thought ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Zoro clutched the ice bag to his head and tried to repress a grimace as another bout of painful throbbing thwacked him in the back of the skull. His blond lover was sat next to him, fortunately unscathed, but nonetheless looking as murderous as he would've done if he'd been hit as badly as his lover.

The idiot was sat opposite them at the galley table, grinning like a moron and apologizing with his loud voice. The fact that he was doing them both at the same time kind of defeated the object of apologizing, but Zoro surmised that the idiot was just too damn stupid to know any better. Stupid enough to punch a hole through the wall of his own bedroom because he was too damn curious to leave them alone when they had baby stuff to sort out and hide… among other activities. The swordsman's green eye twitched as another painful shockwave went through his head.

A stray plank of wood had fallen loose from the rest of them, flipped and smacked Zoro in the back of the head as he'd rolled over and covered the cook's body with his own protectively. It was bloody painful, but he was lucky that it didn't have a nail through it like many of the others did, as Usopp had pointed out. Bastard. It was probably his idea to have Luffy put his fist through the wall in the first place.

"So what were you trying so hard to hide?" Brook asked, sitting down next to his captain.

"Ugh, does it matter?" Sanji said. It was probably all damaged now, anyway.

"Yeah, it does," Luffy said, and then his face looked like that of a five-year-old's on Christmas morning. "Is it presents? You got presents for us all? Is mine meat? OH MAN-"

"No, dimwit, we didn't," the cook replied, very tempted to light one of the cigarettes he'd stashed in the kitchen cupboard for an emergency.

Luffy pouted.

Zoro was leaning his head against his hand and clutching the icepack to it when Franky walked in holding all the bags they had brought back, including Sanji's clothes and all the baby stuff.

"Hey, why'd you go buy a load of junk for a baby? There aren't any babies on this ship," he said, looking at them with a furrowed brow.

Usopp, Luffy and Brook turned to look at Sanji and Zoro with confused looks on their faces. After a few moments, Usopp clicked, making an impossibly more freaked out expression.

"_Please_ tell me Nami figured out a way to flog all that crap for an extortionate amount on some island," the sharpshooter said lowly.

The four men looked them over expectantly whilst Zoro's eye twitched (again) and Sanji glanced over at the 'special' cupboard nervously, tapping his nail against the wood of the table.

At that point, Robin and Chopper walked in the room, holding a couple more bags in their hands. "We're home," Chopper said with a grin, in his little reindeer form again.

Robin locked onto the tension in the room instantly, judged the conversation, and said with the most serene voice and calm smile, "Ah, Cook-san is expecting."

Sanji got up and all but ran over to the cupboard.

Luffy's raucous laughter belted about the room as the rubberman clutched his belly and nearly cried with mirth. Usopp looked like he was going to vomit, Franky had screwed his face up in confusion and Brook was making a bizarre half-gagging noise under his breath. Chopper was blushing a little and looking like he wanted to disappear into the corner of the galley he was standing in. Nami had turned up half way through the explanation and had her palm to her forehead, her other clutching a large, pink and yellow shopping bag. Robin was leaning against the island counter in the kitchen, looking as calm and collected as she always did, as though she hadn't just explained exactly what had happened between cook and swordsman in frightening detail.

Sanji had already finished the first cigarette he'd smoked in a while but was very tempted to light another. Zoro looked pretty much unfazed and had dumped the nearly defrosted ice bag on the table, giving his head a light rub on the bump he had sustained in Luffy's attack on their sleeping quarters.

"So… let me get this straight," Usopp began slowly, "Zoro and Sanji have been-" he paused, screwing his eyes shut and seeming to take great care in his choice of words, "/together/ for how long..?"

"Probably a year and a half now." Zoro replied casually, leaning back in his chair a little.

The room was silent save for Luffy's raspy giggling.

"And you're… pregnant?" Franky asked, his face still screwed up in confusion.

"He is, I'm not," Zoro answered defensively.

Sanji glared at him out of the corner of his eye. "We were going to tell you eventually, but we just had to get all the stuff we needed before we reach the next island," he explained, "but you kind of found out anyway…"

Everyone was quiet for a beat. "Okay, well, now that's out in the open, shall we get to sorting out your living quarters?" Nami asked.

"It would probably be best if we separate Zoro and Sanji from the rest of us so they can share a room with the baby," Chopper suggested quietly, the first time he had spoken for a while.

"Franky!" Nami snapped, hands on her hips and making the shipwright jump. "Do you think you can do that?" She asked in a much quieter voice.

Franky shook his head and then scratched it. "Y-yeah," he said, then seemed to regain a bit of composure. "Of course!" He said.

The galley was silent again, until Luffy spoke once more. "Will you name it after me?" He asked gleefully, utterly unconcerned that his male cook was pregnant by his male first mate.

"No," Zoro replied, "we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet, anyway."

"That reminds me, shall we try out that machine we got?" Chopper suggested.

"That might be a good idea." Robin said.

"Okay," Sanji answered with a sigh, "at least we can find out what the sex is, or something."

Luffy perked up a little. "Woah! You can see if it's a boy or a girl already?"

Sanji rolled his eyes. "I can't, moron, but we picked up this machine that can."

Chopper was rummaging through their bags looking for the miniature ultrasound machine they had purchased, and then plodded into the infirmary. Followed by the entire crew.

The blond cook hopped up onto the small bed in the little reindeer's office at his request, and then waited as he stood on a little stool beside the bed, holding a thick instruction manual.

Though they were total morons, Sanji had to feel a little endeared at the sight of Zoro, Luffy, Usopp, Franky, Brook, Robin-chan and Nami-swan all trying to fit into the tiny infirmary as their doctor assembled the ultrasound.

"Ow! Damn it long-nose that was my foot!" Franky yelled.

"Waagh! Zoro get your hands off my crotch!" Usopp shouted.

Zoro glared. "Believe me, my hands are nowhere near your crotch," he replied.

"Nope, mine were!" Luffy yelled with an obnoxious laugh. "Swipe~" he said as his arm snapped back to its usual place, chewing on the candy bar the sharpshooter was hiding in his pocket.

"Shut up!" Nami yelled over Usopp's fuming.

All apart from Nami and Robin snickered as Chopper squirted a gooey substance onto Sanji's bare abdomen.

"That sounded like a fart!" Luffy bellowed. Nami clocked him round the head.

"Okay, here we go," Chopper said, spreading it over Sanji's slightly shivering skin with the plastic wand.

After a couple of minutes, a greyish blur appeared on the screen surrounded by a series of numbers. Sanji stared at it, moving his face closer so he could make out exactly what was going on. He could see some odd shapes that didn't look baby-ish at all at first, and then the ultrasound picked up on a large area of darkness with some more grey.

"That doesn't look much like a baby," Zoro said, with the same look as the blond on his face.

Sanji glared. "Well it won't yet, moron, its probably only a bunch of cells right now," he said.

"Can you see if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Nami asked, her brown eyes glued to the screen.

"Hang on," Chopper said, moving the wand around Sanji's belly once more. On the screen were a couple of blobs which took on vaguely baby-like shapes.

Sanji stared at it, blinked, and shook his head again. "What the-"

"There's two of 'em!" Luffy announced around a mouthful of chocolate.

Everyone leaned in closer, including Zoro and Sanji. "So there is," Chopper said, like it wasn't a big deal.

"Seriously?" Nami said, smiling, "Awesome! That means I can spend more- I mean, for the kids, obviously."

While everyone cheered and patted them on the backs in congratulations, Zoro seemed to choke on his own saliva and Sanji went even paler.

"Woah~ I was happy when they said there was _one_, but now we're going to have _two _new nakama~!" Luffy shouted, as Chopper, Usopp and Brook grinned and cheered. Franky was crying manly tears of joy, Nami had stars in her eyes at the thought of all that shopping she was going to pretend was for the babies and Robin was smiling in her serene way.

"So, is it a boy or a girl?" Franky asked.

Chopper squinted. "I think its still too early to tell," he said, followed by a chorus of sighs, "you're about eleven weeks, which is earlier than I thought you were. I thought you were bigger because you were later into the pregnancy."

"Am I really that fat already?" Sanji mumbled quietly.

"Can you see anything wrong with them?" Robin asked, the voice of logic as always.

Chopped shook his head. "No, not right now. Everything looks good at the moment," he said, "but of course I want to keep in check just in case there are any complications."

"Good," Zoro said, arms folded.

"Maybe it would be fun if we left it as a surprise?" Brook suggested, and the swordsman noted how he used the term 'we', meaning the crew as a family.

"I don't care what sex it is!" Luffy bellowed, before he began chanting: "new nakama new nakama new nakama~" and the rest of the crew joined in.

"These kids are so fucked," Sanji said to Zoro, who was holding his forehead in his palm.

A couple of days later and Franky had finished rebuilding the men's bunk room and building the separate living quarters for Zoro and Sanji, complete with separate cots that could be converted into beds. The walls were wooden like the other rooms in the house, with a large double bed made of the same sturdy material. They had returned to the shopping centre again to buy more of what they had bought the previous day, as well as furnishings for the new room.

Once they had finished setting everything up, Zoro stretched dramatically and then fell onto the bed.

"Hey, I just finished making that," Sanji scowled, letting go of the sky blue bed sheet.

Zoro responded by pulling him down onto the bed with him.

"Damnit Marimo!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you're ~fragile~" Zoro teased, even as he pulled the squirming cook close to him and wrapped his arms around him.

Sanji wriggled about until he was reasonably comfortable, pulled against the swordsman's side and his leg slung over his. "You're an ass," he stated matter-of-factly.

Zoro didn't reply, he simply gave the cook a tired half-smile.

"What?" Sanji asked, annoyed.

"Nothing. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff." He mumbled. "Like, do you really care if it's a boy or a girl? Judging from how you are with boys compared to how you are with girls, you seem like the kind of guy who'd prefer daughters to sons."

Sanji's visible eyebrow pumped up. "And I suppose you'd prefer sons?" He asked.

"Of course not," the swordsman answered, Kuina flashing in his mind. "I mean, I don't care either way. I want to teach them swordplay."

Sanji was silent for a moment. He wasn't sure of Zoro's origins, but he had the feeling that this was something close to his heart, so he didn't comment on it.

"I'll teach them how to cook," he said.

Zoro smiled, and glanced around the medium size room. It was a good size, below deck in an empty part of the ship. He couldn't help but think Franky had deliberately put them below deck so the kids' crying wouldn't keep them awake at night. But he didn't mind so much. He figured they were probably safer down here, out of sight like this.

Sanji could just see a small mountain of yellow packages forming in the corner over Zoro's chest. Nami had said they'd best pick up as many nappies(1) as they could before they arrived because they were going to disappear very quickly, especially now they knew there were two of them. After a couple of minutes laying on Zoro's chest, he moved, putting his legs over the side of the bed.

Zoro grunted; he'd just been drifting off. This bed sure was comfy… the new, wide mattress made a change from the wooden bunks they'd been sharing before, and now he could sleep next to the cook. He just hoped he didn't kick in his sleep…

Sanji glanced over his shoulder at Zoro with a smile when he grunted, and then he stood, walking over to a bag that hadn't been emptied, rustling it slightly before pulling out a couple of identical blankets. He had really just picked them up on a whim, but on closer inspection they were decorated with little pirate ships, fish, treasure chests and jolly rogers. He smiled, and carried them over to the bed, sitting cross legged.

"Do you think we can do this?" He asked after a minute.

"Pfft, of course we can," Zoro answered.

Sanji shook his head, wondering why he had questioned it. He knew they could; that was the very motto of their crew. They could do anything if they wanted it enough.

"I have to go make dinner," he answered, folding the blankets back up and placing them on the bed.

Zoro answered with a snore.

Once dinner was over and done with, Sanji yawned widely. He was more tired than usual, with usual being that he could tidy the kitchen from top to bottom and still find the time to swoon over the girls with after-dinner treats. But no, said girls had all but banished him to his new bedroom after he was spotted yawning one too many times.

He managed to get a few hours in, aided by the large, comfortable bed, until he was woken up by his lover opening the door around midnight. He was slightly sweaty and reeked of pheromones- obviously he'd had another of his all-evening training sessions. Sanji preferred to sleep naked, though he hadn't done it since he was on the Baratie; he'd had his own room with a lock, then.

But it appeared that Zoro was of the same persuasion, Sanji noted, as he eyed him from his faux-sleep. He was already shirtless, as Zoro so often trained without it, and the blond watched him as he carefully rested his swords against the wall near what was apparently his side of the bed now. The jingle of a belt buckle and a zipper, followed by his haramaki and boots being kicked off. He dumped his pants on the floor and rolled into bed beside the blond, turning to face him and gently wrapping an arm around him, as if he were uncertain if it were allowed.

Sanji noted, with a queer mix of giddiness and shyness, that they'd never slept together before. Not like this, with their own bed, in their own living quarters. Their relationship, before now, had been one of occasional kisses, fucking in the galley in the wee hours of the morning and arguing every other minute of the day. But it had changed. Now it was out in the open and it was serious.

Zoro's head was on the pillow behind his, and the cook could hear him breathing. It wasn't the snores, farts and sleep-talking of the men's bunk room he had grown accustomed to over the past year, but just the gentle creaking noises the Sunny made as she sailed over the sea and Zoro's breathing against the nape of his neck, making him shiver.

He rolled over, turning to face the swordsman, and planted a deep kiss on his mouth- not a good night peck, not the quick exchange they shared when they happened to bump into each other alone. This was an invitation.

Zoro responded to it after he got over the initial surprise. His hands found their way around the cook's not-quite-as-lithe body, bringing him closer beneath the covers and deepening the kiss. Sanji ran his fingers through short green spikes, making a quiet groaning noise in the back of his throat.

It was nice. Being together, naked, warm, secure and without the threat of being walked in on. He wasn't sure if it was the rocking of the boat, or Zoro's touch against his skin, but Sanji couldn't help but begin to feel sleepy.

Unfortunately, Zoro seemed to be on a mission to make sure he stayed awake. His head was gradually moving downwards, beneath the covers. "Don't fall asleep on me yet, cook," he said, right before his mouth closed around a pinkish nipple. God, but how long had it been? The cook had been worrying to much and his stress level was higher than was healthy since he'd stopped smoking. The swordsman was hoping that eventually it would lead to some kind of explosive bedroom action, but he'd had no such luck. No matter; he could pick up the slack.

Sanji groaned, feeling himself twitch against Zoro's chest. It had been a while… He slipped his hands further down the covers and slid them through his lover's hair, rubbing a thumb against his ear affectionately. Zoro released his nipple and moved his head further down, kissing his slightly swollen belly. He held the cook's hips still with one hand as the other began working his cock, stroking it to full hardness and rubbing his own against the mattress.

Sanji's moans were muffled into the covers, which were up to his neck, and he grinned at the lump Zoro made beneath it. Gradually, he manoeuvred himself so he was laying on his back and spread his legs slightly so Zoro could lay between them comfortably.

Zoro shifted and when he was comfortable, took the head of the blond's cock into his mouth and began sucking slowly. Sanji arched his back slightly and groaned low, loving the freedom of being able to express the sensations as freely as they came, with no thought of being caught ever crossing his mind.

The swordsman began bobbing his head a little faster, kneading the pale hips beneath his hands before he released one and used it to fondle the blond's balls softly.

Sanji made a sound that was almost like a squeal, and then he grunted, writhing and pushing his hips up, his hands fisting in the pillow. Eventually, Zoro stopped, crawling back up the cook's body until his head popped out from the covers, and Sanji grinned at him. Zoro smiled back and kissed him deeply.

Sanji's tongue wrapped around his, his nails scratching down the toned back gently. He yelped suddenly as Zoro grabbed his thigh and pushed it up, holding it there while his other hand, slick with lube he had squirted out of the strategically placed dispenser (god, but Zoro loved having a little table beside his bed), slipped inside of him. Sanji bent his right leg at the knee with his foot planted on the bed, but he wanted to lift it. He all but wrapped himself around his green-haired lover as he teased his prostate, making volts of pleasure rip up his spine and down his legs. Sanji moaned and kissed him, leaving wet kisses down his neck until his reached 'his' area, which was powdered with faded love bites. He compensated by leaving a particularly harsh one, and he felt Zoro's long fingers falter inside of him as he grunted.

A couple more fingers later and Zoro pulled out, wiping his hand on the bed sheet before he steadied himself with one hand and guided himself in with the other. Sanji's legs twitched slightly and he moaned, clenching around the other man.

"F-fuck," he exclaimed, the first time he had spoken in a while.

Zoro smirked down at him. "I was thinking just the same thing," he ground out roughly as he lay there, sheathed inside of him.

"Then hurry up and fuck me, I'm not going to break," Sanji replied desperately.

Zoro snickered breathlessly and began thrusting slowly. Sanji grunted in annoyance. "Maybe not, but its been a while since you've had my cock…" he said between breaths, "you sure you can take it, or is your dick too accustomed to being used on all those girls?"

"Fucker," Sanji answered, clenching around him particularly hard for good measure. "I can take you any time, anywhere."

"I'll keep that in mind," Zoro shot back with a wink, putting an end to talking for a while as he sped up, hard thrusts slapping his hips into the other man's even as he bucked up to meet them.

Sanji's back arced and he threw his head back as he cried out, swearing loudly, their movements making the headboard strike the wall behind it repeatedly. He wouldn't be surprised if they did wake the others up, but he didn't care. The weeks of aches and pains compensated with only a quick, hurried hand job from the man above him were strenuous, but he felt like they were pouring out of him now, emptying his body of its pains.

Even Zoro was making more noise than usual- though he wasn't a very loud lover, he was groaning and grunting above him breathlessly as his cock struck his prostate repeatedly. His muscled abdomen was sandwiching the blond's cock between himself and his lover's slightly swollen belly, creating a wonderful friction that made Sanji delirious.

Zoro moaned deeply, a noise Sanji was going to remember, and suddenly he sped up, desperately humping the other man as he came deep inside of him, his back arched and his face contorted into one of deep pleasure.

Not a second afterwards, Sanji gave a loud cry, arching his back and tightening his legs around the other man as he came between them, spraying against their flesh.

Zoro slowed down, pants peppering the space between them. Sanji's eyes were closed and he unhooked his legs from the swordsman's body, letting them fall against the bed. Zoro lay on top of him, still sheathed, panting into the pillow beside his head. He smelled of sweat and sex; Sanji's favourite smell, more delectable than any dish he could cook.

After a few minutes, Zoro leaned towards Sanji again, and they met for a deep kiss, a languid 'I'm sorry' from both parties, for not allowing themselves this pleasure for such a long time. Zoro pulled out wordlessly and lay next to the other man, his hands behind his head.

"I told you I wouldn't break," he said, grinning naughtily.

Zoro's serene expression in the dim, bluish light changed to one of distaste. "You always have to have the last word," he replied, pulling his lover against him. "Go to sleep," he said, "m'tired."

Sanji gave him a disdainful scowl, but cuddled up against him anyway. "Good night," he said.

"Night," Zoro replied.

"I was talking to the kids."

"I was talking to my swords."

"Pfft. Go to sleep."

Aren't twins cute? I know it's a bit cliché, but seriously, when are they going to come across an mpreg island again? xP

Once again, I'm extremely sorry I haven't updated in so long (damn college D: ). But~! I wrote a lemon to make up for it x) Thanks for reading! C&c is appreciated muchly.~

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

(1)- Diapers, basically. In the UK we call them nappies x) and I write in British English, so I thought I'd just clear that up.


	10. Chapter 10

NOTE; Originally I had a slightly longer chapter planned to make up for the absence of this fic, but it's turned out that it's probably going to run a little too long for one chapter and I've decided to split it. But fear not! I'm determined not to go on such a long hiatus as last time o~o; Otherwise, enjoy! :D

Nami sighed to herself tiredly as she flicked through the newspaper in her hands, blowing a stray hair from her face as she read the day's headlines. It was mid-morning and the sea was calm- they had been sailing for a little under a fortnight after restocking on a small, uninhabited island, and were likely to find another island in a few weeks. It was a rare act for her, but Nami had decided to sleep in an extra hour, so it was no surprise that there was the usual mid-morning racket coming from outside.

Nevertheless, she concentrated on the newspaper in front of her. Once again, simply more news about so-and-so pirate being captured and executed and more propaganda from the World Government. Flicking through the paper, it appeared to be the same old thing as it usually was, until one small article, pushed to the side on page twenty-six, caught her eye. It featured a small, black-and-white image of Salrynn, and below it was a short article.

_'Five days ago, the Island of Salrynn on the Glordonia Chain was attacked by their long-time enemies, the inhabitants of Marné. It is thought that the attacks were unprovoked but were over a political issue spanning back many decades. Casualties are as of yet unknown.'_

Nami's eyes had widened to twice their size as she read the text. That little island… where they had been only months before… attacked? She sat there for a good minute, her hands crumpling the paper as her hands balled into fists.

Her horror was only interrupted by a polite knock on her cabin door. Robin was an early bird and had been up since about six- Nami hadn't paid much attention, but the dark-haired woman had kindly left today's paper on the table between their beds and left her alone.

As if she had been caught in the act of some awful crime, she crumpled the newspaper up and hid it under her blanket.

"Nami-san, breakfast is ready!" The cook's polite voice was muffled slightly. "I'll hold off the pigs for as long as I can but I really think you should hurry before it gets cold."

The redhead blinked slightly. "Ah, okay, Sanji-kun, I'll be out in a minute!" She called back, climbing out of bed and walking over to her wash basin to freshen up.

Breakfast was the usual affair, and Nami noted, quite amusedly, that Sanji was becoming more and more like the younger crewmembers in his eating habits as his belly swelled larger- though of course, he was more capable of keeping his manners in check than they were.

The short newspaper column was playing on her head like a nasty headache. It was awful news. What was she going to do? Should she tell everyone? No, they'd probably insist on turning back and going to fight, and that wasn't a good idea for a number of reasons- not least the fact that one of their strongest was in a very fragile state and another would probably dive in front of a bullet to save him at this point. No, announcing it over breakfast was certainly not a good idea.

Once Luffy and Sanji had begun their usual bicker about seconds, Nami murmured something to Robin and left soon after. "Thanks for breakfast, Sanji-kun," she said sweetly, and motioned for the archaeologist to follow.

"You're welcome, Nami-swaan!" Sanji shouted around trying to hold the captain away from his still-unfinished food.

As soon as they were back in their room, Nami retrieved the newspaper out from beneath her covers and flipped to the page, laying it out on her bed for Robin to take a look at. The dark-haired woman blinked as she read over the short paragraph and looked up at Nami with a slight frown. "I knew you'd bring this up." She said, sighing and moving to sit on her own bed.

"It's awful!" Nami exclaimed, but then she clasped a hand to her mouth in fear of someone having heard her. "What should we do?" She added in a hissed whisper.

Robin seemed to think for a moment, crossing one long leg over the other. "For now at least, I think that we should keep it quiet. It's certainly not a good idea to go all the way back to save them when we're in such a delicate situation."

Nami nodded and looked at the floor. "That's what I thought. But…"

"I know, Navigator-san. I feel the same way." The dark-haired woman said softly. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again. "Try not to worry yourself over it," she said, picking up the newspaper from the bed and walking over to their large dresser with it, placing it on top of a shoebox. "You never know what might happen."

Nami nodded and followed the archaeologist as she walked out the door.

A week later, Sanji was standing at the stove flipping the ingredients for a stir-fry in a large metal pan for the day's dinner. He was contemplating making twice as much for tomorrow's bento when he reached over for a large jar of whisked egg that he'd made a minute ago. But he misinterpreted the distance and accidentally knocked it over, spilling the sticky yellow liquid all over the floor.

He growled deeply. Wasted food.

And some of it had got on his trouser leg.

If weren't for the memory of agonising hunger pains in his belly, Sanji would've thrown the pan out of the window, stir-fry and all. He was certainly not a patient man these days- if he ever was to begin with.

"Fuck!" He shouted in annoyance, furrowing his brow and turning the heat on the stove down so that the food wouldn't burn. Muttering a string of curses under his breath, he bent down- with slightly more difficulty than usual- and picked up the now empty jug. He stormed over to where he kept the paper towels-

And there were none. He couldn't use a cloth; he'd never get the smell out.

"Urgh, for the love of-" bending down to look in the cupboard for back-ups, he growled again. Clean out of paper towels. Damn crew and their total lack of ability to eat like civilised people…

Restocking on uninhabited islands were certainly exciting for Sanji, as they often challenged his creativity as a chef. But they were rather lacking when one was looking for things that had more utilitarian purposes…

He sighed, and made his way down to the toilets. He hated using toilet paper in the kitchen…

Only to find that they were both occupied. What the hell?

"Oi! Who's in there?" He asked, banging on one of the doors under the stairwell.

"Ah~ Sorry Sanji… We won't be out for a while. We've already been in here an hour. I think Chopper ran to the other one…" Usopp groaned painfully.

"It still tasted good," Luffy interjected loudly from the other one, but nothing about his voice said that he was smiling.

"Your own feet would taste good to you, baka!" Usopp shouted back, "I don't think that we should eat the fish around here Sanji… or the seaweed."

Sanji slapped his palm against his forehead and decided that he was going to snap their fishing rods in two. Whenever those three were left to fish, nothing good ever came of it.

"Never mind," he said, and stormed off to find something else.

After a few minutes of looking for something that resembled a paper towel, Sanji reached was at his irritation peak. He looked around; Robin was on the forecastle with Franky, Brook and Nami, watching with interest as the shipwright worked on a very pointy looking piece of machinery. The navigator lounged in the background on a deck chair and flicked through a catalogue, Brook at her side and in serious danger of having his lights punched out again with his perverse comments about the models.

Eying the magazine in her hands, Sanji had a sudden brain wave. He quietly made his way over to the women's' quarters, being careful not to be seen as he slipped inside the ladies' bedroom. He was far too experienced in this act than he should've been to get caught.

He gently shut the door to the bedroom and looked up suddenly as he heard a short calamity above him, but it calmed down after a moment. Sanji calmed his nerves and began looking for a newspaper. His eyes quickly zoned in on a rolled up object resting on top of a girly shoebox on the dresser, and he walked over and checked the date. Seeing that it was quite old, he grabbed a few sheets from the inside before placing it back where he found it and slipping silently out of the room again. The familiar clandestine spike of mischief washed through him again, and he gave a small grin.

However, as he turned around, he was suddenly met head on by the swordsman. Zoro stood there, arms folded, shirtless and with a damp towel around his shoulders. There was a sheen of sweat over his body as he glared at Sanji, obviously tense from his pre-dinner workout and nearly ready for his pre-dinner nap.

"What did I tell you about doing that?" He asked quietly, ignoring a blast from overhead, as did Sanji. (He distantly heard a groan coming from the toilets as well…)

"I was getting some newspaper. We're out of paper towels," he explained, pushing past Zoro to make his way back up to the galley. Zoro stopped him.

"Have you smoked today?" He asked, dark eyes scanning the cook up and down momentarily.

Sanji narrowed his eyes at him and then shot a sarcastic grin at him. "No, I haven't actually. Why?"

Zoro nodded. "So that's why."

Sanji gave him a confused stare but then he shook his head and brushed past him, making his way back to the galley.

Zoro followed, and Sanji shot a glare over his shoulder at him. Zoro ignored him as usual, and they both ended up in the kitchen.

"What the hell?" Zoro asked looking at the floor As Sanji began to clear up, using the newspaper to absorb most of it, but leaving a few sheets out.

"I knocked it over by accident." Sanji explained. "Obviously." He added under his breath.

"Well I can see that," Zoro shot back indignantly. "I'm just surprised. You're usually like an acrobat in here."

"Yeah, well, if you hadn't knocked me up, I still would be. And I'd be able to smoke. And drink. And fight." He added, getting closer and closer to a pout with every word.

Zoro walked over to the spillage area and took a few more sheets of newspaper to help his lover mop up. "It's only for a few more months," he said quietly.

Sanji was silent, his mouth twisting a little where he would've usually sucked on the filter of a cigarette.

"Aren't you looking forward to meeting our kids?" He asked again quietly, screwing up some of the now soggy newspaper and placing it in the rubbish can behind him.

Sanji finished mopping up the rest of the mess and did the same before they both stood up straight again. With a sigh, he got the mop and bucket out and started to fill it up with hot soapy water, eying the simmering stir fry as well. "I am," he replied finally, not looking at his lover, "but I'm getting sick of the restrictions. I'm not like this, Zoro-"

"I know." Sanji jumped slightly as Zoro was suddenly behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Two large, calloused hands were placed on his swollen belly and Sanji shivered as the musky scent of his lower invaded his nostrils. He hated to admit it, but the blond kind of loved the smell of pheromones on the other man, and often made a point of catching him after his workouts for this reason.

Zoro's lips were suddenly next to his ear, brushing the hot outer rim of his ear and a shiver racking him as the swordsman's breath touched his neck. "Don't worry," he whispered as Sanji closed his eyes. "It'll be over soon enough. And I'll look after you." He planted a gentle kiss on the side of the cook's chest, hoping that the other man was not in a spiky mood.

But Sanji turned the tap off and turned in Zoro's arms to return the kiss a bit more thoroughly. The swordsman was caught a bit off-guard by the sudden enthusiasm, but he certainly didn't reject it. He hugged the cook closer, tightening his grip around Sanji's back and running his hands over the tight fabric. The blond's own hands were planted on either side of Zoro's face as the kiss deepened, and another kiss turned into another.

Sanji gave a breathy, pleased moan at the contact and as his lover's mouth travelled down his neck to lick a healing love bite from one of their earlier sessions, he purred contentedly, the slight stickiness on the galley floor forgotten for now.

Zoro's hands moved down to cup the two firm globes of Sanji's ass, and the cook's hands buried themselves in his lover's hair as his lips brushed the swordsman's cheekbone. Zoro sucked on the blond's Adam's Apple and smiled against his skin as he buried his face in the crook of Sanji's neck, breathing his scent in indulgently. His hands ever so slowly slid around and down the cook's body, sliding over his lower abdomen and stroking the slight bulge there lovingly.

"Will you…" Sanji began breathily at the action, face flushed and eyes closed but slowly opening to address the other man, "will you… still want me when I get… big?" He asked, uncharacteristically shy in his self-consciousness.

Zoro grinned wide. "So that's what you're -really- bothered about.." He replied, rolling his eyes momentarily.

Sanji furrowed his brow in embarrassment and glanced down to how he had instinctively covered Zoro's hands with his own on his belly. "Well?" He muttered quietly.

Zoro snickered. "No way. All that baby fat? Pssh."

Sanji's eyes widened and he raised his foot of the ground. "You asshole-"

Zoro only laughed louder and pecked Sanji on the nose. "Jesus, dude, you're even more gullible than Chopper."

Sanji's eyes narrowed again and he lowered his foot to the ground, cringing when he felt the slightly stickiness beneath his shoe. He pushed Zoro off of him and turned around to . "Whatever, Marimo. Get out of the way, I have to wash the floor."

Zoro stepped away willingly and walked off with his hands behind his head. "'Kay. I'm going to go catch a few Zs before dinner anyway." He replied.

As Sanji wrung the mop out into the bucket, a smile tugged at his lips.

That night, after dinner had been cleared away and the festivities calmed, Zoro loomed over Sanji between the night-darkened sheets of their own bed, his mouth trailing wet kisses down the blond's heaving chest. The light below deck was dim from the small lap that was nailed onto bedside table, and it cast a bluish chiaroscuro around the room.

Sanji gasped and hissed when Zoro's lips closed around his nipple, and he bucked his hips up to rub against his lover. The swordsman laved over it and then his mouth travelled lower once again, until he stopped right over the small bump. Sanji's eyes flicked down to his face, watching as the green haired man pressed the side of his face against it with his eyes closed. Sanji ran his fingers through the short green spikes of hair he found there, his thumb tenderly stroking the other man's forehead.

Green eyes flicked up to meet his. "They feel bigger," he whispered from under the covers, Sanji holding up the blanket to allow air in.

"Well, good," the cook replied with a smile. "Hopefully they'll be big and strong, like me."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Psh, more like thin and scrawny like you," he said, stroking over the bump affectionately.

Sanji narrowed his eyes and flicked the other man around the ear. "If I'm so unattractive then why are you with me?" He asked, affronted.

Zoro rubbed his ear. "I didn't say that you were unattractive. I think you're gorgeous, you know that, right?" He said. He wasn't exactly used to paying the other man such compliments, but if he was going to be putting up with the hormones as much as this it probably warranted such things.

Sanji looked away. "You haven't touched me in ages," he mumbled.

"Oh for- I touched you this afternoon!" He replied indignantly.

"No, not just kissing," Sanji snapped, "I mean, -really- touched me," he added, and his hand snaked down to grip Zoro's and press it to his groin.

"Sanji, we had sex last night," he was getting exasperated.

"That's like six months ago in pregnancy time," the cook shot back.

Zoro groaned. This was ridiculous. Just a week ago, Sanji would've kicked him in the nuts for even coming near him with any kind of sexual motive, but in the last couple of days his sex drive had gone through the roof.

"Or can you not keep up?" Sanji asked lowly with a wry grin on his face, knowing just how to push all of Zoro's buttons.

It worked. The swordsman's eyes narrowed and the cook suddenly found himself with his legs hitched up over Zoro's shoulders and his hips yanked forward. Zoro had taken his half-hard cock into his hand a bit awkwardly and had begun to work it to full hardness.

Sanji gasped and writhed a little, his hands fisting in the pillow either side of his head. "Shit," he ground out through clenched teeth, surprised at the sudden onslaught of sensation.

He was fully hard before long and Zoro used his position to his advantage; his tongue licked over the sensitive underside of the other man's dick and travelled up the dark throbbing vein hungrily. Sanji bit his lip and panted through his nose in response, and then his dimly-aching back arched sharply and his legs melted open even more when the swordsman swallowed him whole, taking him deeply into his throat. Zoro moaned softly around the meaty flesh in his mouth, his groans sending vibrations down the blond's dick.

The cook let out a beautiful moan, and Zoro's own cock twitched in response. He was eager to draw more of those noises from the blond and so he hollowed his cheeks, concentrating on bringing the other man off. His head bobbed and he took in more and more of the other man until he was deep-throating him.

Sanji let out sharp cry when he felt the head of his cock hitting the back of Zoro's throat and he gave a long, gruff moan. He reached up with one hand and he buried it in Zoro's hair, trying to buck up into his mouth even as the swordsman panted through his nose. Blond curls tickled his face when he took the other man in to the root and swallowed, and he squeezed the cook's raised ass, one thumb finding his puckered entrance and dipping into it.

The blond gave a moan that probably would've woken up the whole crew if he hadn't buried his face into the pillow to muffle it. He came hard in his lover's mouth, but Zoro didn't stop. He sucked him through his orgasm and swallowed every last drop.

Sanji lay panting on the mattress when he was done, letting out a quiet, tired groan as the swordsman released him from his throat, and gently lowered him back to lay full on the soft mattress. Zoro scooted and laid down on the bed beside him, his own dick now fully hard and unsatisfied. But nonetheless he wrapped one arm around the cook and brought him to lay with his head on his chest, both of them panting softly now.

After a minute or two, Sanji looked up tiredly to study the other man's face. "Has anyone ever told you that you give really amazing head?" He asked, his voice slurred in post-coital bliss and fatigue.

Zoro's eyes were closed, as if he were meditating, but he cracked one open to regard the cook. "You've mentioned it once or twice," he replied with a smirk.

Sanji laid his head back down again but his eyes tiredly travelled to the tell-tale bump in the duvet. "Do you…" He began.

"Don't worry," he said, "just go to sleep."

"But I don't mind…" He answered, but his eyes were already falling shut.

Zoro looked down at the other man and stroked his hair lovingly, tickling his ear ever so slightly as he tucked a strand of it behind his ear. "Maybe in the morning." He whispered, and joined the blond in sleep.

"We'll see, shithead," Sanji muttered in half-slumber.

Some distance behind the Sunny and below the sleeping lovers, a periscope popped up from beneath the torrid waves and glanced about before it locked onto their ship. It plonked back down again, and returned to trailing its target.

Enjoy.~


End file.
